A Final Chance
by shadowedheart89
Summary: The line between good and evil is not as clear as Harry would like to believe. When a new girl shows up, they both start to understand that sometimes you must commit an act of evil for the greater good, as they struggle with predestined lives.
1. All Aboard

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter One:** All Aboard

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_I can't believe I am doing this…again, _I thought for probably the millionth time that day. I was sitting on the Hogwarts Express, waiting to depart to yet another school. I took a moment to look at my reflection in the glass, forcing myself not to change anything that I saw. This was my last chance at going to a normal wizarding school, so I decided to do it in my true form, without morphing. So as I looked at my long black hair, and tanned skin, I felt a bit restless. To me, my true form was too plain. It was too thin, too short, and had too many scars. The only thing that I did like was my eyes, which would change even if it wasn't for my power of morphing.

Sighing, I pressed my forehead against the window so that I wouldn't have to face my reflection. That's when I saw him. He was kind of short, much too skinny, had unruly black hair, his clothes were much too big for him, and even form the distance I could see his startling green eyes trying to hide behind his round glasses. I would have known him anywhere. It was Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, The Savior of the Wizarding World. He was standing with a red haired boy, and a bushy brown haired girl. I knew them to be Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger from reading tons of books and magazine/newspaper articles about Harry. Really though, who didn't know them?

Evidently without even being aware of it, I started to reach out to Harry with my mind, because suddenly he turned and looked straight at me. For what seemed like minutes but what actually only could have been a few seconds, we did nothing but stare at each other, our eyes locked. Finally, I broke the eye contact and ducked out of view, feeling ashamed of myself.

Still, it didn't end there. The connection to him was still open and seemingly out of no where but only in my mind I started to hear him and his friends talking.

"Did you guys see that girl?" Harry asked his friends.

"No, what girl?" asked Ron, seeming curious.

"I don't know who she is. She was on the train. She was staring at me."

"Well maybe it was just a new student surprised to see the famous Harry Potter. You should be used to it by now," Hermione put in sensibly. I hoped he would believe her.

"Yeah, maybe you are right. It just felt weird. It was like…" his voice trailed off as the connection finally severed. I sighed in relief, and slouched more down into my seat. The first day hadn't even begun yet, and I was already risking being caught.

I had no idea why I was so nervous, but I knew that it was the reason for me losing control like that. Just that little bit though, was dangerous. Deciding that it was just the fact that this was going to be my last chance, I settled for trying to meditate for awhile to clear my mind.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing, closing myself off to all of my thoughts and surroundings. I sensed my magic flowing through the compartment, and lift my bag up, so it was just floating in the air. I felt myself starting to relax. That is until the train started moving and I fell forward out of my seat, and my bag fell on top of me. I groaned at the sharp pain in my back as I stood up, but ignored it as I put it back in the overhead compartment. I just sat down again when the compartment door slid open, causing me to jump and send a burst of magic out that made the overhead light flicker.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," said a friendly voice. I turned to see Hermione standing in the doorway.

"It's alright. I guess I'm just a bit nervous, that's all," I replied.

She smiled at me. "Well I was wondering if you would mind if my friends and I joined you. It's doesn't seem like there are any empty compartments."

"Sure, I don't need a whole compartment to myself," I told her and she laughed.

She stepped into the compartment and sat across from me, followed by Ron who took the seat next to her, and then Harry who sat next to me. I tried my best to not stare at Harry and hoped that he wouldn't recognize me.

"I'm Hermione Granger, by the way," she told me offering me her hand.

"I'm Marlene Wizidore," I responded dutifully, taking her hand.

"This is Ronald Weasely, and Harry Potter," she told me motioned to each as she said their name.

"Uh, just call me Ron," Ron told me shaking my hand, and turning a delicate shade of red.

I turned to Harry to shake his hand, and the moment our fingers touched, an amazing thing happened. We both shared a vision of him as a baby of when Voldemort killed his mother. The detail was so amazing that it seemed as if it were happening that exact moment. The green light, the chilling laughter, the sudden pain, it was all in such clarity. The vision only lasted a second, and when I looked at Harry, his eyes were wide, with apparent surprise and suspicion.

_Please don't say anything. I don't know what happened, but please just don't tell anyone, _I begged him telepathically, and squeezed his hand to emphasize my words. He stared at me for a second longer and I was sure that he was going to tell them what happened.

When he opened his mouth, I was surprised to find what came out of it, "You're the girl that was staring at me earlier."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and dropped my hand. "Yes, that was me. I'm sorry. I just couldn't believe that I was looking at the real Harry Potter. I've been reading about you my entire life, but I'm sure you're tired of hearing that."

"Yeah, you have no idea," he replied bitterly.

"So I take it you're new here?" Ron asked casually.

"Yep, my last school was Durmstrang…I think."

"You're not sure?" Hermione asked, sounding suspicious.

"Not really. In the last year I've been to about 6 different schools," I told them nervously, hoping they wouldn't make too big of a deal of it.

"Wow, why so many?" Harry asked.

"Well my parents are researchers, and they travel all over the world. They always want to make sure that I'm close by, so they always take me with them," I told the well practiced lie.

"That must be terrible. Don't you miss all of your friends?" Hermione asked.

"Well I don't really have much of them. It's been like this ever since I was a child, and we haven't really been in a place long enough for me to make any close friends except for my mentors, but they usually travel to meet me, wherever I am. My parents promised me that we would be staying here for awhile, well at least until I graduate."

"You must hate it," Ron said.

I just shrugged. "It's all I've ever known. Besides, I get to meet all sorts of interesting people and learn new types of magic. Did you know that there are different tricks and techniques in different parts of the world?" I asked.

Harry and Ron looked at me blankly but Hermione looked amazed. "You probably know more than most of the students at Hogwarts. I wonder what classes you are going to have. What do you want to be when you leave school?"

"I'm not sure yet. I haven't really given it much thought," I lied. I knew exactly what I was going to be doing, but school wasn't going to prepare me for it.

Hermione looked like she was about to explode at my words. She opened her mouth to say something but Harry intervened, "Hermione, don't lecture the girl. I'm sure she'll be able to figure something she wants to do before it's too late. Not everyone needs a set plan."

She glared at him for a moment then turned to me, "What year are you?"

"I believe I will be joining the 6th years. I might have to take some extra classes though because of all the differences between the schools," I told her, wondering exactly what this year was going to be like class-wise. Usually I'm stuck in a bunch of easy classes that I can pass in my sleep. With my abilities, I was always able to get by with shortcuts.

"Well then, that means you'll be joining us. And really, you should be looking into what it is that you want to do."

"Thanks Hermione, I will. Enough about me though. What about you guys? What's school like here?"

"Well Gryffindor is the best house, so hopefully you'll get in. Wait, have you been sorted yet?" Ron asked.

"No, not that I know off, although I was told that when I got to the school there would be some last minute things that would take place. Maybe one of those is this sorting."

"Well don't let Ron make you biased. All of the houses have their own unique qualities, we just happen to be in Gryffindor," Hermione informed me.

"Just hope that you don't end up in Slytherin. They are just horrible," Ron told me in a low voice. I glanced over at Harry who just rolled his eyes.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked feeling a bit worried. I mean I read up on the history of Hogwarts, and know about the dark wizards that came out of the house, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there is anything wrong with the house.

"Most of them are rich, pureblood snobs. One, Draco Malfoy, is the hugest prat ever," Ron told me. He had barely finished speaking, when the compartment door flew open and a gorgeous tall, thin, platinum haired boy stood in the doorway. I recognized him immediately, even though it had been three years since I last saw him.

"Well if it isn't Scarhead and his sidekicks Mudblood and Weasel. And look at this, they added a new member, and didn't even invite me," Draco Malfoy said in his haughty tone, causing his two companions to laugh stupidly.

"Well if it isn't Draco Malfoy. I see you still have nothing better to do with your time than to insult others," I said before standing up to face him. I could feel Harry, Ron, and Hermione looking at me with surprise.

Draco studied me for a few moments before the recognition dawned on him and he began smirking. "Why, its little Marlene Wizidore. My, have you grown." He moved toward me and I could tell that he was going to hug me, but I told him telepathically, _remember your reputation. _Instead, he took my hand in his and kissed it. For anyone else, the change in movements would have been awkward, but he some how made it elegant. "I must say though, that I see your taste in companions still leaves much to be desired," Draco told me with a smirk.

I sensed the trio behind me getting angry before I responded, "Yes, because I like to surround myself with intellectual beings that can carry on a conversation, where as you surround yourself with mindless brutes that probably don't even know that they are being openly insulted." By the look of faces of his two massive companions, I could tell that my assessment was right. Behind me, the trio was trying suppress their laughter.

Draco's smirk faltered for a moment before he replied, "I doubt that you could consider Potter and Weasley here to be 'intellectual beings'"

This time I smirked, "Well dear, it's not like you have been around enough to know."

His face flushed for a second, before he retorted, "Well obviously, I used to spend a lot of my time with you."

I laughed, "Touché, Draco. Well is there anything else here you needed, or did you just plan on being a jerk?"

"Well not that it's any of your business, Wizidore," he drawled, "but we were just looking for a compartment to sit in. Obviously we're not going to sit here with the riff raff, so I suppose we'll be going." He turned and started away but then turned, "And Wizidore, if I were you I'd watch who your friends are, and watch it with the insults. I won't always be so nice to you." Then he mentally added, _Meet me in about 10 minutes. We have to talk._

I closed the compartment door and looked at the trio. "Is he always so arrogant?"

"Usually more so," Hermione told me. "How do you know him?"

I thought about what I wanted to say first, and then settled on the relative truth. "A few summers ago, my parents and I stayed near him. One day I was walking around in the woods behind our house, and I ran into him. There weren't many other kids around so we became friends. We were almost inseparable that summer. Then I had to move, and we haven't talked since. Well until just now."

"Did you ever meet his parents?" Ron asked.

"Once," I told him, and then shuddered at the memory. I thought Draco's father was going to kill him on that one meeting. He had found out that Draco was spending so much time with me, and it led into an argument. His father wasn't much for words, and used Crucio against poor Draco.

"Did you know that his father was a Death Eater?" Harry asked a bit sharply.

I feigned surprise, "No, I had no idea. Draco didn't like to talk about his parents very much. I know they were rough on him sometimes, expected him to be just like his father and carry on the family name and honor. Neither of them seemed to be home very often though."

It was silent for a moment before I excused myself to go to the restroom. Hermione offered to come with me, but I told her not to, because I wanted to try and find it myself. I doubt it would have gone too well trying to meet Draco with her following me.

I started walking down the main aisle with absolutely no idea of where I was supposed to meet Draco, when suddenly a compartment door slid open, and some one grabbed me, pulling me inside. I shifted my weight and turned, causing the person to trip and hit the side of the compartment.

"Bloody hell!" cried an angry Draco. "What did you do that for?"

"Why the bloody hell did you grab me like that!" I shouted at him, crossing my arms.

He glared at me for a moment, then got up and walked over to me. He slipped his hands along my waist and said, "I missed you Marlene. I wrote you, but you never replied."

I put my hands on his shoulders. "My parents wouldn't let me. They said it was too dangerous. You know, with your father and everything."

He glared at me and moved back a bit. "I'm not my father," he told me coldly.

"I know that Draco, but you know it would have been dangerous. I remember what he did when he found out that we were friends," he flinched at the memory, but I continued, "and I didn't even want to think of what he would do to you if he found out you were still talking to me after he forbid you to do so."

"Well, he's not here anymore, so I can do whatever I want. Including talking to you, hugging you," he closed the distance between us and hugged me, "kissing you," he moved back enough to kiss me, "and doing whatever else I want with you as I please."

"With my permission," I added smiling.

He smirked, "Of course, with your permission." Then we started kissing again. After a moment or two he pulled away. "I really do hate to break this up, but I must get back. I'm sure my 'mindless brutes' will be looking for me soon."

I laughed, "Yeah, I have to get back too." He took a step away from me, and then started eying me. "What?" I asked, irritated. I hate people looking at me, and I was starting to get the strange feeling that he knew I wasn't really in my true form the last time I saw him. I was close, but not quite. Draco knew quite a bit about my powers, but there were still somethings that I wanted to keep from him, for both of our safety.

"I just can't believe how much you've changed," he said, sounding a bit awed.

"It's been three years Draco. In our lives, it might as well have been a lifetime."

He shrugged. "I suppose, but it seems like there is something else that I just can't put my finger on." He shrugged and gave me one last kiss. "Well I guess I'll be seeing you around. Hopefully you get into Slytherin, and then we can really wreak some havoc," he told me while his eyes became cloudy with some hidden emotions. I felt the urge to delve into his mind to find out, but restrained myself. It was bad karma to just start entering people's minds.

"I have a feeling that no matter what house I am in, we'll end up together again, creating doom for the rest," I told him laughing. He merely shrugged, then left the compartment.

I sat down for a moment, feeling a bit drained from the stressful day. It didn't really help that I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. I took a deep breath, and then closed my eyes, picturing my school uniform in my mind. I felt the tingle of magic in the air and when I looked down at myself, I saw that I was now in my robes.

After a few more moments, I went back to the other compartment, but when I got there, Harry was the only one there.

"What happened to Ron and Hermione?" I asked him, evidently scaring him out of thought, since he jumped slightly.

"Oh, they left. They had prefect duty. They probably won't make it back before we get to the school." I asked him what a prefect was, and he explained it to me. Then after an awkward silence, he asked, "What happened earlier? When we shook hands?"

I took a deep breath, and then silently cast a silencing charm on the compartment. I glanced at him, and saw him staring expectantly at me with those amazing green eyes, .

"If I tell you, you have to keep it a secret. I mean you can't even tell Ron or Hermione."

"I promise," he told me sounding sincere. I figured if there was anyone that I should be able to trust not to turn me over to Voldemort, it would be him.

"I'm not an ordinary witch Harry. I have special powers and gifts. One of those includes the ability to see others thoughts and memories. I guess you could call it telepathy. Usually I can control it, but I've just been so stressed out lately my powers have been a bit out of my control. I'm sorry. I didn't try to bring up those memories for you."

He looked taken back for a few moments as he thought it over. "It's alright. It was just so clear, and then I could hear you talking to me, but you weren't. It was weird. You could do some amazing things with those powers. Can you control people's thoughts and actions?" he asked with sudden curiosity and suspicion.

"Yes, but I would never unless it was a life or death matter. I guess you can see why I didn't want you to say anything. If the wrong people found out, then You-Know-Who would be after me. And even in school, every time some one does something wrong, they would just blame it on me, saying I did it."

"I don't know how you do it. I would be so tempted," he told me, with a glint in his eye. "But I guess it just comes down to morals."

I nodded and another uncomfortable silence ensued. He kept looking at me as if there was something he wanted to ask, but couldn't quite get it out. Finally I took the initiative and asked what it was.

"I was just wondering, what other powers do you have?"

I felt my heart begin to speed up. I didn't want to lie, yet it was too soon to tell him everything, even if he was Harry Potter. Luckily I was saved by the trolley. We both bought some sweets, and the question was lost for the time being.

After awhile, two others came to the compartment, a boy and a girl. Harry introduced them as Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood. They joined us and we played a few game of Exploding Snap before my drowsiness finally caught up to me and I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I felt decidedly strange, but couldn't quite place my finger on what it was. After a few moments, I realized what it was. I was sleeping on someone's shoulder. I sat up suddenly and looked at a surprised Harry.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. You should have just pushed me over."

He laughed and blushed. "It's alright, I fell asleep too. I didn't really notice." I could tell he was lying but didn't say anything to contribute to the already embarrassing situation.

I looked out the window, and saw that it was already getting dark. "How much farther is it until we get to the school?"

He glanced at his watch, then outside at the surroundings before answering, "About 20 minutes. Well as far as I can tell."

I felt my stomach growl, and decided that I couldn't wait 20+ minutes to eat. I pulled out my wand, mostly for show, and conjured up a plate of sandwiches. "Care to join me?" I asked Harry when he gave me a surprised look.

He nodded and took one. "I take it that you are probably very good at your studies."

I shrugged. "I make pretty good grades, and I'm a fast learner when it comes to magic. I guess it's just a gift."

He smiled. "Well maybe you'll be able to give Hermione a challenge. She's the top of our class, but she hates to be out done."

I grimaced, "Well that's good to know. I hope that I don't get on her bad side."

"I doubt that. She might try to get you to convince Ron and me to take our studies more seriously. Well if you end up in our house that is."

We kept eating in silence for awhile, both of us lost in our own thoughts. These school houses seemed to determine who everyone's friends were. I read the history of the school, and I knew that there were rivalries among the houses, but I had non idea it was like this. I wanted to become friends with Harry and his group, but I didn't want to give up on my friendship with Draco either.

I was still mulling over my thoughts, when I felt the train start to slow down.

I gave Harry a questioning look and he answered, "We are approaching the school."

I nodded, and without even thinking, I just waved my hand over the plate and banished it.

Harry looked at me amazed, "You can do wandless magic? That's amazing!"

I looked at him for a moment confused, before it dawned on me that I hadn't used my wand. "Oh, well I can only do a few spells without my wand," I lied. I can do more without a wand, than with one.

Harry studied me for a moment with a curious expression, and then gasped. I felt a surge of fear, but then he said, "I forgot to change into my school robes."

I laughed, and pulled out my wand. He took a step backwards, eyeing me suspiciously. "Don't worry about it," I told him. Then I waved my wand and muttered some words for show, and suddenly he was in his robes.

He looked down at him self and grinned. "Thanks, I owe you one."

He opened the compartment door, and when I saw the crowd of kids trying to get through, I put my hand on his shoulder. "Help me find my way without getting trampled, and we can call it even."

He laughed, "It's a deal." He stepped into the crowd, and I grabbed his hand. He looked at me for a moment, and I blushed. He just gave me a shy smile, and led me through the crowd. As we walked through the crowd, he asked me where I was supposed to go. I told him I didn't know, and he seemed to think for a minute.

"I guess I'll take you to Hagrid, he should know where you should go."

I just nodded, feeling a bit distracted. I started to get a weird feeling, but I just figured it was nerves. When we finally got of the train, I realized what it was. I looked at what I could see of the towering form of the school, and could feel the power and magic radiating off of it, even from the distance. It was captivating me.

Harry saw my interest in the school and smiled. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

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AN-Well this is my first attempt at any kind of fanfic. I hope you like it! Please rate and leave feedback.


	2. Welcome to Hogwarts

**A Final Chance**

By: Shadowedhear89

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

**Chapter Two**: Welcome to Hogwarts

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After a few moments of my admiring and assessing the school, Harry gently pulled me over to a huge man, and started talking to him. I was so absorbed with the school, and wondering how I was going to make it inside of it, that I didn't pay any attention to their conversation.

I'm not sure how long it was before Harry finally led me away, but most of the students weren't visible. I saw a group of carriages that were beginning to pull away, and Harry cursed under his breath and told me that we needed to run to catch them.

We ran, and just were able to jump into the last carriage. After a few seconds of catching my breath, I noticed that there was only one other person in the carriage, and it was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Draco! I'm sorry that we barged in on you. We almost missed the carriages and this is the last one," I explained to him.

"I noticed," he said, sounding slightly amused.

"Where are your friends?" I asked curiously. Although they seemed like idiots, they seemed pretty loyal to stay by his side.

"I sent them away. I wanted time to think things through. Obviously that's not going to work now," he said coldly, but I could see a glint in his eye that took the edge off of his remark.

"Well, it's not like we knew you were in here or that we had a choice," Harry said bitterly.

Draco's eyes turned cold as he turned his gaze to Harry. "You could have just walked."

Harry opened his mouth to retort but I cut him off. "Harry did you find out where I am supposed to be going?"

He glared at Draco for another moment or so, and then turned to me. "Hagrid said that you are to meet Professor McGonagall when we get to the school, and she is to take you to see Dumbledore."

"Thanks. I don't know what I would have done without you," I told him.

Draco smirked. "You could have just asked yourself. It's not hard, and it's not like you would have missed the big oaf."

"Hagrid is not an oaf," Harry growled.

"Would you guys just stop," I said. I was getting a big headache from coming closer to the school, and their bickering was doing nothing to help it.

"Well he started it," Harry said sounding childish.

"Very mature," Draco drawled and rolled his eyes. He seemed a bit subdued, and I began to worry about him

"Draco…" I started to ask, but suddenly if felt as if a wall fell on me. I felt a tremendous pressure on my body, and the world faded to black for a moment, before the pressure disappeared, but the darkness remained.

I started to panic, not understanding why it was so dark, when I heard Draco mutter, "Lumos," and the carriage lit up by the dim light of his wand. I was lying on the floor of the carriage, and he helped me up with his free hand. "The light went out when you fainted," he told me, looking at me intently.

I nodded at him, and closed my eyes, using my remaining strength to will the light back on. When I opened my eyes, the carriage was once again lit.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked from beside me.

"Yeah, I'm alright now I think." I turned to Draco, who was sitting opposite from me, those beautiful gray orbs studying me intently. "How many more wards are there?" I asked, noticing my voice was a bit hoarse.

"Wards?" Harry asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Magical shields. They are what prevent the school from being attacked. They stop the wizards from apparating in or out, and stop unfriendly spells from hitting the school, while making it undetectable. Most wizards can't even sense them when they are weakened like now for our entrance," Draco told Harry absently, without even his usual trace of arrogance. "It seems as if the rest of them are down, probably in your honor," he told me.

"Thank Merlin," I said, feeling exhausted already.

Draco brushed a few strands of my hair out of my face, and then held my hands. "Do you feel better now?" he asked softly.

"I suppose. I'm just exhausted, and dizzy."

"Here," he said taking what looked like to be a granola bar from his robes. "I know it tastes horrible, but it will make you less dizzy. I can't really do anything from the exhaustion though, that's from the school. They may have to just take you to the infirmary and give you something there."

"What is that?" Harry asked eyeing the bar suspiciously.

"If you must know Potter, it helps clear your head after head injuries, fainting, and stuff like that," Draco told him in a cold voice, his irritation evident.

I ate the bar, which was as horrible as he promised, but it did clear my head and make me feel better.

"Thanks Draco," I told him softly. He just nodded and kept watching me.

"What is going on here? Are you sick are something? Are you going to be okay?" Harry suddenly burst with questions.

I looked at Draco, _Do you think I should tell him?_

_That's up to you. It's your powers, and your risk, _he told me.

I nodded, and Draco told me verbally, "Hurry then, we are almost up to the school."

I turned so I could face Harry better. "Well I told you before that I had special powers and gifts. One of them is to be able to sense magic. Everything that is magical, or uses magic gives off a sort of aura. Basically it leaves traces, and I can sense them, feel them. Things that are small, or people, I don't notice too much because I am around them so much. I'd have to concentrate on them in order to sense them. With large concentrations however, it's different. It's like huge pressure waves on me, wearing me down, physically and mentally. Like the ward, it felt like having a brick wall dropped on me. The school is about the same, but slower as we approach it."

"So did this happen at your other schools?" Harry asked, though it did seem like he understood some of what I was telling him.

"No you dimwit," Draco snapped, losing his patience. "Every time magic is used traces are left behind. Hogwarts is one of the oldest schools, and while other schools are cleansed of the magical buildup, Hogwarts feeds off of it. On top of that you have the magical forest, the lake, the animals, and all of the spells and wards Dumbledore has all over the place. It's a huge concentration of magic. Why do you think it is so safe, merely because Dumbledore is here?"

Harry flushed. "Well how was I supposed to know that?" he replied angrily.

"Maybe you should look to your Mudblood friend and read a book," Draco retorted menacingly.

"Would you two stop bickering like kids? We are at the school," I told them as we finally came to a halt. "Draco you leave first. We don't need to be seen together the first night. Who knows who might be watching, and we don't need to start problems already."

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked, traces of worry were in his voice. I couldn't help but smile. Under that cold exterior, he wasn't quite as bad as he appeared.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I'll talk to you later, I promise."

He nodded and kissed me on the cheek, and then turned to leave, but suddenly turned back to Harry and me. "Potter, if you tell anyone about any of this, You-Know-Who, will be the least of your worries." Then he elegantly stepped out of the carriage.

Harry glared after him for a moment, "How can you be so sure that you can trust him?"

"Well I've known a side of him that you probably have never seen, he his bound to my by magic, and…" _I can read his mind, _I added telepathically.

I tried to stand up, by the world came out of focus, and I almost fell, but Harry caught me with amazing reflexes. The moment he touched me, I could sense his power, and it gave me a calming feeling, and helped give me strength. "Thanks, I owe you big time," I told him trying to laugh.

"I'm sure you'll make up to me," he said then began to blush furiously, "I mean you can teach me some of your tricks…I mean magic! You can show me some magic!" By the time he finished speaking, he was an amazing scarlet color.

I smiled weakly at him, "Its okay. No problem, I got the easier part of the deal." He seemed to relax some, and helped me out of the carriage.

As we walked up to the school, I felt the pressure become more and more intense. Harry noticed me struggling, and put his arm around me to lend me strength and guide me. Suddenly, I sensed his aura, which was so strong it was almost overwhelming in my current state. I was surprised I didn't notice his magical strength before, but then again my anxiousness did have my powers acting more than a little odd.

We finally made it to the entrance of the school, and were greeted by a very severe looking woman. "You must be Marlene," she said as we approached.

"Yes," I replied, trying to remain standing against the pressure.

"Professor McGonagall, we need to help her. The school is hurting her somehow," Harry told her, panting from supporting my weight for so long and trying to hurry.

"The Headmaster has instructed that you drink this, Marlene. It's supposed to help you," she told me, handing me a goblet.

I took it and drank heavily of the warm bitter liquid that was inside, desperate for something that would help me. Instantly, the pressure was gone, and my strength returned. In fact, I felt better than I did in a really long time. My head was very clear, and I saw everything with an amazingl new clarity. I could see the magical auras surrounding everything, but they appeared not to be effecting me at all. I turned to Professor McGonagall, "Thank you. You have no idea how much better I feel."

"Are you going to be alright now?" Harry asked letting me go.

"Yes, I feel great. Thank you for everything," I said and without thinking, gave him a hug. He stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and returned the gesture.

"You should really be getting to the Great Hall now, Harry," Professor McGonagall told him. "I must take Marlene to see the Headmaster, but I'm sure that you will be able to talk later." Then she turned and entered the school, motioning for me to follow her.

As we walked through the school, it seemed as if we made turn after turn and climbed stairs after stairs to my amazed mind. Of all of the schools I've gone to, none of them could ever compare to Hogwarts. The portraits gazed down upon me with interest, as if wondering who I was and what I was doing in their school. The statues that lined some of the halls were magnificent, and I could see some secret passages with the new sight the potion had gave me. The stair cases moved upon their own accord as walked by them, leading to even more corridors. It was the most beautiful and magical school I had even been in.

After what seemed like a long time, the professor stopped in front of a statue of a gargoyle. "Licorice wands," the professor said, and the gargoyle leapt aside, revealing a spiral staircase. "You may go right up. He is expecting you."

I stood there for a moment, nervous about having to meet with this mysterious headmaster. I had tried to find information on him, but surprisingly I found none. I had no idea what he was like or how to act around him. "Thank you Professor McGonagall," I said before taking a deep breath and starting for the steps.

"Oh, and Marlene," she said stopping me, "Just try to relax. And welcome to Hogwarts, we're glad you're here." I noticed a small glimmer in her eyes, before she turned and walked away.

I gathered my courage, and stepped onto the staircase. It began to move on its own, taking me up, until it stopped in front of a door. I knocked gently, and heard a soft male voice tell me to enter.

I opened the door and looked at the elderly wizard sitting at the desk. "Marlene, it's great to see you here."

"Uncle Albus!" I almost shouted in surprise. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" I ran over to him and hugged him.

He chuckled softly, his blue eyes sparkling as always behind his half moon spectacles. "I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

I felt my jaw drop from surprise. "Why didn't anyone ever tell me? It would have made things quite a bit easier."

"That's precisely why they didn't. I didn't want to make things easier for you, and I didn't want it to influence your decision of coming here."

I rolled my eyes. "Well this explains why you have always insisted that I come here. You just wanted to have me where you could have an eye on me, and so that I would be able to help out. Is this why I could never find any information about the headmaster in any of my books about Hogwarts?"

"Yes I'm afraid so. It took a lot of doing in order to keep that a secret from you. I had to take my name out of all of your books and newspaper articles, and you do have quite a bit of those."

I laughed. "I can't believe this Uncle Albus. Maybe now we will be able to spend some more time together without you always having to run off to work."

His eyes lost their sparkle for a moment. "Marlene, I'm afraid that it won't be that simple. You must never forget that I am the Headmaster and I have a duty here. I still have a lot of work to do, and the time of the final battle is drawing closer. You are here as a student, just like everyone else. I don't want you to go around thinking that you will have special privileges just because I've known you your whole life," he told me, his eyes regaining their glint.

I smiled, "Of course not, _Professor Dumbledore,_ the same rules that apply to everyone else apply to me. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, we have other pressing matters to get to. First of all, there is a bit of a project that I would like for you to help me with."

I thought about it for a second, and then it dawned on me what he must be talking about. "It wouldn't happen to involve teaching a certain raven haired, green eyed, peer of mine would it?"

He chuckled, "I see you have figured out my devious plan. I happen to know that you two have already met, and seem to get along very well. If I'm not mistaken, he was your own Prince Charming."

I felt myself blush. I was about to ask him how he knew, but then thought better of it. All my life, Uncle Albus has been able know exactly what it was that I was doing, almost exactly as I was doing it.

"We must discuss that later. Now we must talk about your powers. As you know, you are more powerful than any other student here and well advanced in your magical abilities. I know you are most comfortable with wandless magic, but we are going to have to make sure you know your spells and how to use your wand."

"What is the point though?" I groaned. "If I can just basically make something happen by thinking about it, why do I need to know the spells?"

"Well what happens if some how you were unable to do wandless magic or just 'think' results? You would want to know your spells then, would you not?"

I sighed, "I suppose so. You are right, as always."

"As I was saying, your powers are still growing, and we must try and keep them secret as long as we can. I have taken the liberty of having a few potions made that will help you with controlling your powers." He pulled three potions of three different colors, red, blue and green, out of his robes, and set them on his desk. "The red one will help control your telepathy. I know that sometimes, you will enter other's minds without trying to do so, which can be very dangerous. It will not prevent you from using your power, but it will restrain it so you won't lose control.

"The blue one is to help prevent magical flares and dilute your other powers. Your will still be very powerful, but you won't be able to hurt anyone if they were to get out of control. I don't think that you would ever hurt anyone, but it is a precaution that we must take.

"The green one is to enable you to get used to the magic of the school. I know that it was overwhelming as you came up here, but this will prevent that once the one you were given at the door wears off. This is not as strong, and you will gradually get weaker and weaker ones until you no longer need them.

"I trust you to take these potions as needed, no more and no less. When you run out, you are to go to the ex-potions teacher Professor Snape, and no one else. Please don't make it a habit of asking him though if you can help it, he has many tasks at hand as well, and wouldn't be too happy to have you running to him every few days to brew extra potions."

I sat there silently absorbing everything he said. "Why would I go to the ex-potions teacher, instead of the current one?" I asked a bit confused.

"Professor Snape and I have an understanding. He is one of the best potions masters, but this year, some of his other talents are required," he answered in his way of never really answering the question.

"Do you understand everything that I have told you?" he asked. I nodded in response. "Good, and of course, if you have any questions…" _you know how to find me, _he finished in my mind. "I think we should head down to the Great Hall. I'm very hungry, and you have yet to get sorted." I nodded and followed him as he led the way through what hopefully was going to become my new home.


	3. First Night

_FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter 3: **First Night

* * *

As Professor Dumbledore and I walked into the Great Hall, it fell silent as everyone watched us intently. Dumbledore motioned for me to stand to the side as he approached a podium. 

"Students, welcome to another great year at Hogwarts. Before we begin the feast there are a few things that need to be tended to. First of all, we are happy to say that we have a new transfer student who will be joining our 6th years, Marlene Wizidore. Please make sure to make her feel welcomed. Ms. Wizidore, if you would be so kind as to step forward to be sorted," he said, indicating a stool in the middle of the room.

As I crossed the room, I felt everyone's eyes on my, making me feel a bit unerved. I reached the stool and sat on in nervously, and Professor McGonagall placed an old hat on my head.

"Well, well, I've never seen anything like this before," the hat said causing me to jump. "Relax. I'm not going to do anything to hurt you. I couldn't even if I tried. It's my duty to place you into the correct house, one where you will be the most successful.

"Now let me see. You have great power. More than I have ever seen in all my years. You've also seen a lot of pain and hardship within you lifetime." _Tell me something I didn't know. _"You also have wit and sarcasm it seems. I see that you are brave and loyal to those you care for, and very manipulative when need be, even sneaky. You have a kind heart, and a great mind.

"Now where should I put you? You could fit in anywhere, but where will you thrive and reach your potential? Which one of your qualities will make you the most successful? I think I'll put you in GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted the last word, and then was removed. I was greeted by the cheers of a red and gold table, at which I could see Harry, Ron and Hermione, cheering enthusiastically with the rest.

As I approached the table, Harry moved over so I could sit among him and his friends. "You look a lot better now," he told me as I took my seat.

"I feel better. Thanks for all your help," I told him.

Then Dumbledore regained his place at the podium, but I became distracted, searching the hall for any sign of Draco. Finally I spotted him at a green and silver table, Slytherin, I recalled. He was staring into space with a blank look on his face, but even from our distance, I was able to sense the disappointment radiating off of him.

_Draco? _I asked carefully getting his attention. He looked at me for a few seconds, but wouldn't reply, and kept his thoughts carefully trained on what Dumbledore was saying. _Draco, are you mad at me? _I tried again, and once again he wouldn't respond. _Please, just answer me._

_I'm not mad,_ his thought came carefully as if he was afraid to let something show. _Disappointed is more like it._

_I'm sorry. It's not like I had a choice. I didn't mean to hurt you._

_You didn't hurt me, _he said with incredulity. _Besides it may be better this way. It'd be dangerous for you here, with all the Death Eater's children. They'd be bound to get hint of your power sooner or later, and then their parents would come for you. You should be safe in Gryffindor with all the fighters in the Light. _

_Maybe you right, _I agreed reluctantly.

_I must say that I wish you weren't in such bloody close quarters with Potter and his friends. I bet they'll try and turn you against me._

_You know that won't happen. My parents couldn't even turn me against you. He doesn't stand a chance. Besides, do I detect a hint of jealousy from you, Draco?_

_Me? Jealous? That's a laugh. You have no interest with him whatsoever, right?_

I could help but laugh a bit, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gave me weird looks that I shrugged off. _No Draco. He was just kind enough to help me out. That's all. _

_He better keep his distance, that's all I have to say, _he replied grumpily.

_My dear Draco, you are forgetting two parts. One, he is the good guy, and two I choose my own company as you very well know._

I sensed a few flashes of anger from him, but he wouldn't reply. I was still trying to connect to him, when plates of food magically appeared on the table, startling me.

Harry noticed and laughed. "Pretty great huh?"

I laughed and nodded, but when I looked back at Draco, he was looking at me, and betrayal was radiating off of him. My laughter died immediately.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked seeing the change in my demeanor.

"It's nothing, I guess I'm just still a little bit unsettled," I told him hoping I was being convincing.

He studied me for a few more seconds, and then turned back to his friends. I started to eat a bit sullenly, upset that Draco wouldn't talk to me. He set up some kind of barrier around his thoughts, and although I could tell it would have been easy for me to break through, I didn't want to invade his private thoughts and make him angrier.

After awhile Harry and his friends started including me in their conversations. Some that hadn't met me came over to say hello and to talk to Harry. As they exchanged pleasantries about their summers, I kept looking over at Draco, hoping that he would glance my way, but he remained absorbed in his conversations with his friends. Finally I just decided to give up trying to get him to talk to me.

I was lost in my own thoughts, eating my desert, when the tables began to clear, and students started to be lead away to their rooms. I started to stall, not really wanting to go to my room and meet and talk with more people.

Harry seemed to notice my reluctance to leave and whispered, "Don't feel like going to the tower yet?" I shook my head, and he smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry about it. I can wait here with you if you want." I thanked him, and then he called to Ron and Hermione, telling them that I wasn't finished eating my desert and that he was going to stay with me to show me back to the tower.

"Are you sure Harry?" Hermione asked. He nodded, and then she whispered something and his ear before leaving with Ron to help the Gryffindors to the common room.

"You didn't have to stay with me," I told Harry once most of the table had left.

"It's alright. I needed a break from those two. Besides, I doubt that you would have been able to find the common room. The castle is very confusing until you get used to it. You can still get lost even if you are," he told me laughing.

I just smiled at him. "Well why did you want to get away from Ron and Hermione? I thought they were your best friends."

His smile and laughter died. "They are. I just I guess I'm tired of the fussing over me like I'm a little kid. I mean, a lot of things have happened over the last few months, and I know that they are just trying to make sure I'm okay and handling everything without going crazy, but right now I just want to forget everything, but they always want to talk about it."

"Oh, I think I understand. Well at least you know that they care."

"I guess so," he replied a bit grumpily. "I guess the good part is that they are starting to get wrapped up in each other. I must say it's about time though."

I laughed. "Well what about you? The famous Harry Potter is bound to have girls swooning over him all the time."

He rolled his eyes. "No, I'm single, and I plan on staying that way for awhile."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"It's a long boring story that I would rather not get in to," he told me, but the word "prophecy" flashed strongly through my mind.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said lamely.

"It's okay."

We fell silent for a few moments, and then Professor McGonagall approached us. "It's started to get late. You two should start heading back to the common room before you miss curfew. I'd hate for you two to have a detention on your first night here."

"Yes Professor," we said simultaneously, then started laughing.

As we left the Great Hall, he asked, "Mind if we walk around a bit, or would you rather just go to the common room?"

"We can walk around."

He laughed. "Why don't you want to go to the common room? It's not scary or anything."

It was my turn to laugh. "I'm not sure. I guess I just want to see some more of the castle. Get used to this place a bit. It's a lot different from the other places I've been too."

"That makes sense. Well it's fine with me. I'd rather walk around too." After a bit of an awkward silence, Harry asked, "So what's the deal with you and Malfoy? You two seem pretty well acquainted."

"Me and Draco?" I asked laughing. I thought about making something up for a moment, but decided on telling the truth. "We had some what of a summer romance 3 years ago. We got pretty close, but then as always, I moved away. I hadn't seen him since then, well until today on the train."

"I suppose you're going to tell me that he's a good guy and is just misunderstood. He's had a hard life and just needs some help," he said a bit bitterly.

"Actually, no I'm not. Draco is a pompous, arrogant, snob, who has a very easy life as long as he listens to his father. He doesn't listen to his father though, and tries to be a rebel, only to cause trouble for him. His notions are not noble in the slightest. He just hates living in his father's shadow."

"So do you think that he's in league with Voldemort?" he asked, his voice sounding a bit strained.

"No, I don't. If his father is with him, I really doubt Draco would be, unless his life is on the line."

"If he's so bad, why did you like him?"

I laughed again. "He's not completely bad. To those few he deems worthy enough to befriend, he is a great friend. To everyone else, he probably treats like slime or worse."

Harry grumbled for a moment, and then asked, "So how did you get him to befriend you?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Well neither of us had anyone else to talk to that summer. It might have just been circumstance. Who knows, maybe now that I'm here, he won't even talk to me."

"I wouldn't doubt that. Not only are you in Gryffindor, but you're also becoming my friend. Those are two major strikes against you in his book."

I just shrugged. "Maybe, only time will tell."

After a few minutes of silence, he asked, "Did you have strong feelings for him?"

"Yes, I think I did."

"What about now?" I thought his voice would hold some contempt or disgust, but it was only filled with curiosity.

I thought about if for a few minutes. Did I still have feelings for him? When I saw him again, all those old memories came back to me, but it felt like something was missing. How am I to know that I don't just have feeling about the memory of what used to be? "I can't say. It's been a long time. We've both changed a lot, well I know I have. We're like two different people."

He stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady and turned to me. "Well we're here finally," he told me softly.

"Well finally is right! I thought you didn't come back this year Mr. Potter when I didn't see you come in with the others," the lady in the portrait said to Harry.

Harry blushed a bit. "I was just, um, helping our new student Marlene here become acquainted with the school."

"I see," the portrait said before falling silent again and letting us finish our conversation.

"Thanks again Harry. I don't know why you've been so nice to me. You don't even know me."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, before he replied. "I think you and I have a lot of things in common. I'm not sure why, but I want to find out."

I smiled at him, honestly glad that I was here. "Well I'm glad. Maybe I'll actually have friends here."

"You can bet on that," he told me, then turned to the portrait and said "Lion's Heart." The portrait swung open, revealing a hole in the wall. "You may want to remember that. It's the password to get inside," he told me, then began to climb through the opening.

I followed him and heard the portrait close behind me. When I got out of the hole, I was confronted with a large, round room adorned with squishy armchairs, and decorated in gold and red.

I didn't get to look around long, because Hermione, who was sitting in an armchair near a fireplace with Ron, started yelling at us. "Well it's about time. We thought that something had happened to you two!"

"Yeah, Hermione was about to send out a search team. You two are ten minutes past curfew," Ron added humorously.

Harry rolled his eyes at his friends' antics. "You guys can relax. On our way here the stairs moved and wouldn't move back so we had to take a detour. It was no big deal. We are here, alive, and intact."

Hermione gave me a suspicious look, as if to say that it was my entire fault. "I'm giving you two a warning. If you start coming in after curfew all the time, I'm going to start giving you detentions."

I glance at Harry, who looked exasperated, and began to worry that I had gotten him in trouble after all the help he gave me. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I didn't mean for us to get into trouble. I wanted to look around the school and Harry just wanted to make sure that I was alright. Don't be mad at him."

The three fell silent, looking at me confused, and then Harry started to laugh. Ron was the one to start talking. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. Hermione here is just a little too by the books." She scoffed and looked hurt, but he grinned at her to show that he was just playing with her. "Hermione, why not instead of scaring the poor girl her first night here, you show her where she's going to be sleeping? I'm sure she must be tired."

She sighed. "Oh alright, follow me Marlene. Night you guys."

I said good night to Harry and Ron, and then followed Hermione as she led me up a staircase and to a room with 6 beds, 4 of which were occupied, and one of the remaining had my bag sitting on it.

"Is that all you brought?" she asked eyeing my bag.

"Yeah, it's a bottomless bag. I got tired of always having to pack my stuff up and forgetting things a while back so I just got this so I can keep everything in here."

"That's a good idea. Maybe I should get one for my books," she said, seemingly more to herself than to me.

I just shrugged, and then reached into my bag to get my pajamas. I changed and climbed into my bed, where despite my whirling thoughts, I immediately feel asleep. Unfortunately, like always in a new place, my dreams were plagued with nightmares. I ended up waking in the middle of the night on the verge of screaming. Shadows of my dream followed me into consciousness and for a few moments I was surrounded by fire, screaming and evil laughter, before they faded into the darkness of the room.

Finally I was able to calm myself down, and clear my head of the images of my dream. I didn't want to go back to sleep right away, so I decided to go down to the common room to see if there was anything warm to drink since my dream left me feeling cold.

As I reached the final steps, I noticed a lone figure sitting in a chair near the fireplace. I recognized the unruly hair immediately.

"Isn't it a bit late to be up?" I asked startling Harry, as I made my way over to the chair next to him.

He spun around to look at me. "What are you doing up?" he asked as I sat down.

"I had a nightmare," I said simply.

"You too?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd see if there was something warm and soothing to drink down here."

"Unfortunately there is nothing. I'd do anything for a butterbeer or even some hot chocolate."

I grinned, and then waved my hand over the table that was in front of us, and two mugs of butterbeer appeared. "Enjoy," I told him taking one of the mugs.

He took the other one, and shook his head. "You are amazing."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not that difficult. You just have to be patient enough to learn."

He shrugged. "Patience isn't one of my strong points, and I'm not too good at learning new things."

I scoffed, "You are a very powerful wizard Harry. You're probably more powerful than you know. You just have to learn how to harness that power. I could help you, you know."

I saw an angry spark in his eyes. "That's easy for you to say. You don't know what it's like to have people calling you "The Chosen One" and expecting you to save the world. I don't feel powerful, so how am I supposed to do anything. I'm just a kid still."

I was a bit taken back. For a brief moment, I was tempted to blurt out that I did know what it was like, and that's why I was here, hiding. But instead I swallowed my words and replied politely. "I'm sorry. It's not any of my business. I wasn't trying to assume anything, just trying to help."

He looked at me a moment then said, "It's alright. I'm just frustrated I guess. I'm the one that should be sorry."

I nodded looking down into my mug. The warm swirling liquid oddly reminded me of Draco, and I started to feel an almost overwhelming need to be with him, to lay with him after my nightmares like I did that summer. It was almost as if I could see him staring back at me through the liquid.

"Well I think I'll try and get back to sleep. You should do the same," Harry said, startling me out of my thoughts. "Oh, and thank you for the butterbeer," he added draining his mug.

"Anytime," I said as I watched him head up to his room.

I sat there for a while longer, mulling over my thoughts, which were still trained on Draco. Finally I started to dose off, so I vanished the two mugs and headed back to my room.

When I opened the hangings around my bed, I found a pale sleeping form lying on my bed. "Draco?"

* * *

AN-I know that boys aren't able to get into the girls' dormitory, things aren't exactly as they seem. 


	4. Meeting with Dumbledore

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Four:** Meeting With Dumbledore

* * *

I looked down at Draco's form confused. I remembered reading somewhere that there was no way a boy could get into the girls' rooms, and since Draco was in a completely different house, it should have definately been impossible.

I started to shake him gently to wake him up. "Draco! Wake up, you can't be in here," I whispered urgently.

He woke with a start. His stormy gray eyes were wide and slightly unfocused when he looked at me. "Marlene, what are you doing here?" he asked quietly.

"You're in my dorm. How did you get in here?"

He looked around for a few seconds. "No, this is the Slytherin boys' dorm."

I looked around and noticed that there was no window in which the moon light shone through, and the room was damp and cold, more like a dungeon than a tower. "What happened?" I asked, hoping that he would have some answers.

"I don't know," he answered. We heard some of his roommates stir, and he pulled me onto his bed, yanked the hangings shut, then put a spelling on them with his wand so no one could here us talking. "How did you get here?" he asked again.

"I don't know," I told him, feeling tears fall down my cheeks. "I had a nightmare, so I went down to my common room. When I went back up to bed, I was here."

He seemed to think for a few moments, and I could sense his piercing eyes on me in the darkness of his hangings. "Can you apparate?"

"No," I lied. "Even if I could, you can't on Hogwart's property. It's impossible. Everyone knows that."

"I know," he told me tiredly, "but you've done the impossible before. Maybe you have a new power developing."

"Draco, I don't know what's happening, but I'm scared. Can I just stay with you tonight? Like old times? I don't even know how to get back." I pleaded with him.

He sighed and I sensed him nod in the darkness. "Alright, but if you get caught in here, we'll both be in some serious trouble." Then he lay down and made room for me.

"I promise, we won't get caught," I said, lying next to him. He slid his arm around me, pulling me closer to him and his surprising warmth. I rested my head on his shoulder, and let my arm rest on his bare torso, feeling the muscles that sculpted his lean body. Once again, I was reminded of how much we've grown up since that summer.

"Thank you," I whispered.

He ran his fingers through my hair briefly. "I'm glad you're here," he said so quietly I could barely hear him. Instead of replying, I just turned and kissed him. Then I settled myself against him again, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

When I woke up, it was still pretty early, if my sense of time wasn't off. Draco was still sleeping with his arm around me, and I still had my head on his shoulder. I sat up a bit so that I could see him better and observe him better close up. He features matured a bit oddly. His face, which was always sharp and pointed, was softer. It didn't make him look younger though, but it did make him seem kinder. His white blonde hair was longer than I remembered, and I noticed on the train that he didn't wear it slicked back anymore, making him look more regal, and more like his father, though I knew that if I mentioned it, he would kill me.

As I studied him, his eyes began to flicker open. "Good morning," I said softly, sitting up fully as he stretched in his graceful, cat-like manner.

"Morning," he replied, his voice thick with sleep. "I half expected you to be a dream."

I laughed. "No, I'm real," I told him, then kissed him to confirm my point. When I pulled back, he smirked, and drew me to him again, once again kissing me.

After a few moments, he pulled away. "You are definitely real," he told me.

I laid back down and propped myself up so I could watch him as he continued to lie beside me. I reach out and toyed with a soft strand of his hair that had fallen in his face. "I didn't realize how much I missed you until I saw you yesterday. Then I couldn't stop thinking about you," I told him.

His eyes hardened. "You never really said good-bye. You just left that note. You left my by myself," he told me in a cold voice.

"I tried to see you before I left. I lied to my parents, telling them that I was going to the store for something, and then I snuck over to your manor. I think your father must have seen me crossing the grounds because he stood guard outside of your door. I waited for about a half an hour, then I left and left you a note at our hide-away. I knew you would go there eventually."

"You came to see me?" he asked, sounding disbelieving still.

"Yes," I insisted, looking him directly in his eyes.

It was silent for a few minutes as both of us got caught up in our own memories of our past together. I thought about our hide-away, an abandoned cabin in the woods behind his manor. We fixed it up together, and then would sneak there every chance we could get. They were memories that were some how forgotten, as if a curtain had been drawn over them, only revealing them when I saw him. Something felt out of place about it.

"Draco…" I started breaking the silence attempting to ask him about it, but he interrupted me.

"We should talk about this later. Right now we need to get you out of here before my roommates wake up."

"Can you take me down to breakfast?" I asked. "I can find some of my house mates from there."

He nodded. "Just let me get dressed and ready for the day. Wait here and don't let anyone find you."

He slipped through his hanging and left me to my own thoughts. I used my magic to change into my school robes and conjured my bag, and then began to doze off as I got lost in my memories.

Draco startled me back to consciousness by flinging back the hangings. "Listen all of my roommates are gone, but there are people in the common room. I don't know how we are going to get you out of here without being seen," he said urgently.

"Don't worry about it," I told him standing up and stretching. "Just act normal and walk out of here to breakfast." I looked around the room and spotted Draco's wand on his bedside table. "Just let me borrow this for a moment."

He gave me an apprehensive look. "That may not be such a good idea. Spells don't always work correctly when you use another person's wand."

"Don't worry. I won't blow up your precious wand or room," I told him before casting a Disillusionment charm on myself.

"This could work," he said looking around the room for me. "Just don't make any noise or bump into anyone," he told me as I slipped his wand into his robes, taking extra care to run my hand across his body more than neccessary. I saw him shiver and opened his mouth to say something, but then he must have changed his mind because he just walked out of the room.

I followed him down to his common room, where his friends insisted on stopping him and talking to him. I stood back, trying to stay out of the way and refraining from touching anyone. After awhile, he finally got them to leave him alone by telling them that he had an urgent message that he had to send. They all nodded knowingly, and stepped away.

When he was leaving the common room, he stalled in the doorway longer than need be so that I could slip through. I patted him on the shoulder to let him know that I was out, and he started walking down the hallway. I followed him for a bit before he decided that it was safe, and then he stopped and held his wand out for me.

I took it and took the charm off of myself. "Thanks," I told him, handing him back his wand.

"Welcome," he muttered, slipping it back into his robes, and then continuing to walk.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, keeping stride with him.

"Everything's fine," he responded coldly.

"Are you sure?" I asked. He was acting really weird and I was worried.

"Yes!" he snapped. I stopped where I was and just watched him as he continued a couple of steps. I was surprised. I had never seen him snap like that. I mean we did argue a few times, but he usually remained emotionless the whole time. Now he was expressing real anger. Finally he turned to look at me. "Look I'm sorry. I just have a lot of things going on right now, and now you come back into my life. It's just a lot for me to wrap my mind around, and I'm not sure how to deal with it."

I felt my own anger start to flare. "Fine, I'll just leave you alone. I don't want to complicate your life any more than it is." Then I started to brush past him.

He grabbed my arm as I started to go by him, and pulled me close, turning me so that I was facing him. "That's not what I was trying to say," he said in a quiet, yet angry voice. I tried to pull away, but he continued to hold me in place. He sighed before continuing in a much calmer voice and manner. "Okay, listen. I'm not good with people, and I don't have many friends…"

"I wonder why," I interrupted.

He glared at me for a moment before continuing, still in his calm voice, "What I'm trying to say is that I'm not trying to push you away. I just have a lot of things going on, and they don't have anything to do with you. I'm just trying to sort through them. Just, please, be patient with me. I don't want you to leave."

I looked into his gray eyes, which showed pain and sincerity, and I could sense that he wasn't lying. Instead of answering, I put my hand behind his neck, and drew him down to me so I could kiss him. "You know you can talk to me if you need to," I told him after I pulled away.

"I know," he said sounding relieved. "I just can't right now. I have to figure everything out for myself."

"Okay, but remember that I'm always here to help you, but you have to let me."

He gave me a genuine smile. "I know," he said taking my hand. "Come on, let's get out of here before someone sees us and starts talking."

When we reached the Great Hall, we stood outside of it for a while in an awkward silence. He leaned nonchalantly against a statue, appearing as though he was waiting for someone or something, as I just stood before him, at a loss for something to say.

Finally I came up with, "So, do you think that we'll have any classes together?"

He shrugged indifferently. "We should. Our houses always have at least one or two classes together, but who knows with us having N.E.W.T. classes and with you being a transfer student."

"Oh, well I hope we have at least one class together," I told him.

"Yeah me too," he said, not sounding very enthusiastic.

After another few minutes of silence, I heard someone call my name. Draco and I both turned to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione all coming our way.

I waved to them, but Draco just scowled. "I think that's my cue to leave. I really don't feel like getting into some pointless argument with Potter and his friends."

"Well then don't," I said simply.

He looked at me, surprised. "You wouldn't understand, it's complicated," he told me. I rolled my eyes and he smirked. "I'll just see you later, my dear," he told me before kissing me on the cheek, and then entering the Great Hall.

"Morning," Harry said yawning when they got close.

"Good morning everyone," I responded cheerfully.

Ron and Hermione muttered their good mornings, before Ron asked, "What's with Malfoy? He usually doesn't pass up an opportunity to insult us."

"He's been acting strange," I said absently looking at Harry who had dark circles under his eyes and was looking exhausted. "I take it you didn't get back to sleep," I said to him.

He glanced at his two friends, and then shook his head. "Er…not really." Ron and Hermione started looking at him suspiciously, and he was starting to look a bit nervous as he turned to enter the Great Hall.

"Harry, are you still having nightmares?" Hermione asked sounding worried.

"Hermione, it's not big deal. Everyone has nightmares, especially after something bad happens to them."

_I wasn't supposed to say anything was I? _I asked Harry telepathically.

_I would have preferred if you hadn't, but its okay, _he replied, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Harry, not everyone has dreams about what You-Know-Who is planning though," Hermione persisted. This caught my attention and I began to listen avidly.

"It wasn't that kind of nightmare," he said angrily.

"Was it about Sirius?" Ron asked cautiously.

"No! I don't even remember what it was about, but it wasn't about Voldemort, and it wasn't about Sirius!" he snapped. "Now can we just get something to eat and forget about this?"

Hermione wouldn't give up though. "It could have been about something important though. Besides you haven't been getting much sleep all summer. I really think that you should talk to Dumbledore about this."

"Look, if it's about Voldemort, I will tell him. Otherwise I don't see any point in bothering him about my meaningless nightmares. That's precisely what they are, and I am perfectly fine. So stop worrying about me. Just let it go!" Beneath his anger, there seemed to be more. I could sense some fear and shame as well.

She looked a bit hurt, but finally let the matter drop. The four of us finished eating mostly in silence after that, surrounded by the joyous conversations of other students, who didn't seem to let the tension bother them any. I watched the other three, intrigued by the argument. There was obviously something bothering Harry that he didn't want to talk about, and his friends were worried about him. I wasn't sure who Sirius was, but at his name, there was a flare of pain and guilt that came from Harry. I figured that whatever or whomever this Sirius is, was playing a major role in Harry's pain.

As breakfast started to come to a close, hundreds of owls swept in to deliver packages and letters to various and numerous students all over the Hall. I was surprised when I received 3 letters, all with familiar seals. One had the phoenix seal, a trademark of Uncle Albus. The second letter had my family crest on it, obviously from my parents, or more likely my mom. The final one had a seal of a lantern, the "lantern of learning," and was from one of my old mentors, Xavier.

As I opened my letter from Uncle Albus, I noticed that some of the professors were handing out slips of parchment to the students, presumably their class schedules. I watched for a few moments before returning to my letter which read:

_Dear Marlene,_

_I hope that your first night here was most comfortable. Unfortunately, the purpose of this letter is strictly business, and not pleasure. There are a few things that I would like to discuss with you and Mr. Potter pertaining to your classes. I have taken the liberty of scheduling you classes that I feel you would find most enjoyable, and hopefully challenging. I made sure that you would have first period free, and if I know Mr. Potter, he should have it free as well. I hope that you would both use that time to meet with me in my office. I would appreciate it if you would pass the message of our meeting on to Mr. Potter. Enjoy your breakfast._

_Love always,_

_Uncle Albus_

I glanced over at Harry, and saw that he was still angry. I didn't want to bother him, but I knew that I had to tell him about the meeting.

"Um, Harry?" I began cautiously. He looked at me amiably enough, so I continued without hesitation. "Professor Dumbledore would like to meet with us. He just sent me a message."

"Great," he mumbled.

"I take it you don't like him too much."

"It's not that. I'm just not in the mood for anymore of his half truths and trying to interpret what he says."

I smiled. "I know what you mean. He hardly ever just comes out and says what he means."

Harry just looked at me for a moment, as if to see if I was joking with him or not. Finally he asked, "So when are we supposed to meet with him?"

I looked at the letter again. "I guess first period. He said that we should both have it free. Look."

He read through the letter then looked at me surprised. "It's signed 'Uncle Albus.' Professor Dumbledore is your uncle?" At his words, several of the people sitting around us turned to look.

I felt myself start to turn red. "Well not exactly. He is just a close friend of my family. I've known him all my life, and he's always had me call him 'Uncle Albus.' I didn't know who he really was until last night when I met with him."

Hermione looked shocked. "How could you not know who Albus Dumbledore is?"

I felt myself get a bit angry. "He went through a lot to hide his true identity from me. He some how took his name out of most of the books and articles I had that would mention him, and I never saw a picture of Albus Dumbledore in any of them. I didn't have anything to compare them too, or even suspected that my kind and elderly uncle could be such a powerful wizard. I just always thought that Albus Dumbledore was a bit eccentric and didn't like to have people write about him or take his picture. It's not really all that uncommon."

"Why?" asked Ron. I looked at him confused and he elaborated. "I mean why would he go to all of the trouble, just so that you wouldn't know that he was such a great wizard?"

I searched my mind for an answer for them and could only come up with, "I guess he was just trying to protect me."

"Protect you from what?" Ron asked, genuinely confused. "It's not like you have You-Know-Who chasing after you like Harry here."

I laughed nervously. I wasn't about to tell them that it was exactly what it was like. Instead I told them, "He probably just didn't want me to use his influence to get things that I wanted from people."

I was saved from any more awkward questions by Professor McGonagall who started to give them their schedules and talking to them about some sort of "owls," although I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about the birds. Why would anyone need 10 owls for? While she was talking to them, I took the opportunity to read the letter from my parents. It read:

_Marlene,_

_Your father and I hope that Hogwarts received you safe and sound. I'm sure that by now you have learned that your Uncle Albus is the headmaster of the school. We hope that it was a pleasant surprise and that you aren't too angry with us. We did what we thought best, and we hope that you believe that. We would never keep anything from you unless we thought that it was going to hurt you. We must warn you though that there are a few more surprises awaiting you there at school. So please be on the look out._

_Even though Uncle Albus is there with you, make sure that you don't let your guard down. At the first sign of trouble, you are to inform us immediately. There is nothing more important to us than your safety. We don't mean to be overprotective, and we do want to make sure that you are happy, but more than anything we what you to be safe. _

_Please, write to us as soon as you get the chance. We know that you'll be busy getting settled in and starting your new classes. We just can't wait to hear how everything is going and all of the new friends you are sure to make there. Good luck with your classes, and try your best. Make sure you stay out of trouble._

_Love,_

_Mom_

When I looked up from my letter, I saw Professor McGonagall watching me expectantly.

"I'm sorry, I was just reading this letter," I told her, hurrying to stuff the aforementioned letter in my robes.

"It's quite alright," she said, sounding a bit amused. "As I was saying, Professor Dumbledore has already created your schedule. If you have any problems with it, you are to see him. If I'm not mistaken, you and Mr. Potter have a meeting with him this morning."

"Yes, Professor, we do. Maybe I should go get him now," I said glancing around for Harry. I spotted him a bit down the table with a Ron and a few of their friends, discussing their schedules.

"Very well. Here you go," she said, handing me my schedule. I read through my classes quickly: Defense Against the Dark Arts and double Potions for today. It didn't seem too bad, and I had several free periods. Only, if I knew Uncle Albus, I would still have a full plate from all of the extra things he will be having me do.

I went over by Harry, who seemed to be in a much better mood. When he noticed me he asked, "So did you get first period free?"

"Yeah, did you?"

"Yeah, so why don't we go meet with Dumbledore now, so hopefully we'll have time to go back to the common room to relax a bit before class."

I told him it sounding like a good idea, and then he said good bye to his friends as they started to get ready to go to their respective classes, and Ron promised to wait for us in the common room.

When we reached the now familiar gargoyle statue, Harry stopped and looked at me. "You wouldn't happen to know the password would you?"

I searched my brain for Professor McGonagall said last night to make the gargoyle move. After a few seconds, I remembered it. "Licorice wands," I said clearly, and the gargoyle moved, revealing the staircase.

Harry grinned at me and motioned for me to go on up. "Ladies first," he said.

I rolled my eyes, and then went up the stairs. This time, when I reached the door, I didn't hesitate to knock. When I heard the soft voice tell me to enter, I did so confidently, with Harry trailing behind me.

"Marlene, Harry, I'm glad you two could see me. I hope that you both slept well," he said looking at me with a knowing sparkle in his eyes.

I studied him for a moment, and recalled the mention of me having a good night in his letter. "You know don't you?" I asked him.

"Yes, I'm afraid I do," he answered, sounding highly amused.

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, but that is something we must discuss at a later moment. What I want to discuss with you both now is extra lessons that I want you to take. Harry, would I be correct in assuming that you are still having nightmares and tapping into Voldemort's feelings?"

"Yes, but the nightmares, haven't really had much to do with him," Harry said quietly, as if he would rather not be having this conversation.

"Even so, I would like for you to continue your Occlumency lessons."

Harry groaned. "Professor, I didn't make any progress last year. In fact, they seemed to make things worse."

"Yes, you are right. This is why I think we shall try a different approach. Although Professor Snape is a highly skilled Occlumens, I must say that your lessons with him were a complete fiasco. His methods and choices of spells did not seem to be the best fit for you. Unfortunately we didn't have anyone skilled enough to take over your lessons. Now we do. I would like you to meet your new teacher, Marlene Wizidore."

"What!" I exclaimed surprised. I wasn't prepared for this. "Professor, I'm not qualified to teach anything, let alone Occlumency. I don't even know what that is."

"Marlene, dear, relax," he said soothingly. "You are a natural born telepath are you not?" he asked. I nodded, not really seeing where he was going with this. "Occlumency is merely the defense of the mind against external penetration. You know how to block your mind do you not?"

"Yes," I said, still trying to grasp the idea of actually teaching someone. I mean its one thing to show a friend how to do some spells, but it's a completely different thing when the headmaster of one of the most prostigious schools asks you to give "The Chosen One" personal lessons.

"Simply put, even the weakest natural telepath is stronger than one who is highly skilled in Legilimency. If you can teach Harry to block you, he can block anyone."

"Sounds simple enough," I said, thinking about whether or not I could do this.

"Maybe not," Harry said. "I'm not very good at it."

"Well it sounds like last time you used spells. I have an easier approach. I'm sure that with some practice you'll get it with no problem."

Dumbledore watched our whole exchange with sparkling eyes. I could tell that he was pleased. "Well, would it be safe in saying that you both are okay with this?"

Harry and I looked at each other for a moment before we both nodded.

"Wonderful," he said cheerfully. "Now there is one more thing that I would like to discuss. It has to do with the club you started last year, Harry. I believe you called it Dumbledore's Army."

I couldn't help but laugh. I just couldn't get the image of the Uncle Albus I know leading an army of anything to seem normal in my mind. "Dumbledore's Army? What kind of club was this exactly?"

Harry turned a bit red as Dumbledore asked him to explain it to me. "Well you see, last year our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would only teach us the theory of defense and wouldn't let us practice the practical aspects. We weren't even allowed to have our wand out. Plus, the Ministry was in denial that Voldemort was back, and thought that Professor Dumbledore was using the school to create an army to rebel against them.

"Hermione was the one who came up with the whole idea. We all wanted to learn how to defend ourselves, because we knew that Voldemort was on the rise again. So, she thought that we could teach ourselves. So we formed a group, and I was the teacher, showing everyone how to do the spells and helping with them what they would need to know, since I was the one who has faced him several times. For a name, we came up with Dumbledore's Army, mostly as a joke. We thought it was funny, that is until it backfired when we got caught."

"Fortunately, that is all in the past," he said, the cheerfulness still in his voice. "The whole point of this is that I would like for you to continue with the group, with Marlene's help."

"My help? How am I supposed to help?" I blurted out, surprised.

Dumbledore gave me a stern look. "Now Marlene, you as well as I know that you have come across spells and incantations that most people in this part of the world have never even heard of."

"Why would they listen to me? I'm just the new student," I said, trying to make excuses to not do it. It would be too easy to let slip the power that I possess.

"If you decide not to help Marlene, let it be because you truly don't want to do it, and not because you are afraid of something. I'm not asking you to decide now or to show everyone everything that you know. I just want you to help them be prepared in case something happens. You both will have time to think it over. I do however hope that you start with the Occlumency lessons as soon as you can."

I nodded and sat there thinking silently.

"Professor, when would there be time for all of this?" Harry asked. "I mean I expect to have a full work load with our N.E.W.T. classes plus I'm Quidditch captain, and now you want Occlumency lessons and D.A. meetings?"

"Yes, but I have already thought of this. Your class schedules are the same, so you can help each other with homework. Marlene is quite adept to large work loads and I'm sure you will find her more than willing to help out. Your free periods are the same as well so you can use those for Occlumency lessons or for homework. Your Occlumency lessons are on your own schedule. I'll just be checking in periodically to make sure that you are progressing well, and the D.A. meetings will also be at your discretion.

"I assure you both, that if you decide to do this, I will help you all that I can. Now, I just ask that you take a while and think about it."

Harry and I both nodded. "That's fair enough," I said.

"Well Harry, you may now leave. There are a few things that I would like to discuss with Marlene in private," Dumbledore said kindly.

"Yes sir. I'll wait for you outside," he told me, before leaving quietly.

When Harry left, I looked at Dumbledore and asked, "What do you think your doing? If you push Harry and me together anymore, we'll be sick of each other by the end of the week."

His eyes twinkled. "I'm not so sure that's going to be the case. For one I'm not pushing you two together. You two have already formed some kind of bond. It is apperent that you will become close over the up coming weeks. Your friendship may also be good for the greater purpose, together you are almost unstoppable, and may be able to break the darkness that we have been living in for so long since Voldemort's rise. Also, I know that you have a friendship with Mr. Malfoy, so I'm sure that you will be spending time with him, apart from being near Harry."

"You can't just force things," I said angrily. For once I was beginning to have acutal friends, and I was a bit afraid that Uncle Albus's forcefulness would drive Harry away.

"I am not forcing you. You and Harry have already started to open up to each other, without my help, and Draco you knew years ago."

I sighed, "So what else is there that you have to talk to me about?"

"We must discuss your teleporting during the night. I know that you ended up going to Mr. Malfoy last night."

I felt myself blush, "It was an accident. I wasn't sure what happened. I guess I was just shaken up by my nightmare. I had gone down to the Gryffindor common room for a whle to relax, and when I went up to bed, I ended up in the Draco's room. I didn't try to. I thought it was impossible."

"So it should be. It seems as though your powers are stronger than the spells placed upon these walls," he said thoughtfully. "Now I am faced with a decision. I have three choices: I can give you another potion weakening your powers further, find a way to strengthen the spells on this castle farther and hope that they will suffice, or I can trust that you will not abuse your powers in anyway."

"Uncle Albus, I promise I won't use my power. Well intentionally. I will work on getting it under control, I promise,"I begged. I hate having my powers weakened. It makes me feel as I have been stripped and that I'm vulnerable.

"I believe you. That is why I'm going to trust you. I will not be watching you, so if you have another nightmare and end up in Mr. Malfoy's room, I may not notice. But if things become too friendly, I assure you that I will know," he told me sternly. "Marlene you must be careful though. Even though I am giving you permission to use your powers, you have to use them wisely. Remember you are trying to keep them secret, so don't go flaunting them to the other students."

"Yes, sir," I said quietly.

"Very well. I think that is all for now, and I have another meeting in a few moments," he said standing up. He came over to me and gave me a hug. "Have a good first day of classes, and make sure you listen to your teachers, and I mean all of them. I will not be bailing you out of trouble now,"

I laughed, "Yes, Uncle, of course. I'll be on my best behavior."

After that, I left his office, and met with Harry outside. We began to walk back to the tower, to meet up with Ron and to get ready for our first day of classes.


	5. Snape

_FINAL CHANCE _

_By: Shadowedheart89 _

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

Chapter 5: Snape

* * *

As Harry and I made our way back to the common room, I started ranting about Dumbledore's plan. "I just don't get him sometimes. Does he honestly think that you can just force two people to spend a lot of time together and they are automatically going to become best of friends?"

"I thought that we were already starting to become friends," Harry said, sounding a bit confused.

"We are, but wouldn't you rather have a friendship happen naturally than have us put together all the time?"

"I supposed so," Harry said slowly as if he wasn't exactly sure.

"I'm just tired of being forced into everything. What ever happened to free will? Or does that not exist in the part of the world?" I asked angrily, turning a corner where I ended up running into something and falling down. I looked up to see what I ran into, and was faced with an unmoved Draco, looking down at me, seemingly quite surprised.

After a few seconds, he began to smirk, "Wow, Marlene I knew you were falling for me, but I didn't know it was so literal."

I glared up at him, "Ha-ha, very funny. Would you mind helping me up, since it's your fault I fell?"

"It wasn't my fault. You came barreling around the corner. Am I to be blamed because I didn't know you were coming, and you weren't paying attention to where you were going?" he said, although he still held his hand out to me to help me up. He ended up tugging me up so hard that I fell against him. I tried to step away from him, but he slid his arms around my waist, holding me in place.

"What are you doing?" I asked looking up at him.

He just smirked and leaned forward as if to kiss me, but before he could, Harry interrupted him. "What are you doing in this part of the castle anyways, Malfoy?" Harry asked, looking a bit uncomfortable.

Draco looked at him coolly. "Not that it's any of your business, Potter, but I have a meeting with Dumbledore. I was on my way when you two ran into me. Now I intend to take full advantage of this situation to snog my girlfriend senseless."

Once again he leaned forward as if to kiss me but I stopped him, "Your girlfriend?" I asked, raising my eyebrow questioningly at him.

"Yes," he replied confidently, "my girlfriend." Then he proceeded to kiss me. After a few moments, I started to get really uncomfortable with Harry just staring at us surprised, and because of Draco's sudden display of affection. I pulled away from him and put some distance between us. "What's wrong?" he asked in a quiet voice so that only i could hear him. His demenor seemed a bit nervous and concerned, though I doubt that Harry picked up on it.

It dawned on me what he was doing and I felt my anger starting to rise. "You've made your point. Now Harry and I have to leave, and you really should be getting to your meeting," I told him coolly.

He studied my eyes for a few moments, and then said, "Alright, I'll see you later then." I moved to walk away from him, but he pulled me close once more. "Are you sure your okay?" I merely nodded and avoided his eyes. I saw him glance at Harry, then kissed me once more before finally letting me go

I watched him for a moment before I called out to him. He turned to face me, his face once again devoid of any emotion. "Dumbledore knows what happened. So if he asks you, it would be pointless to lie."

He looked confused for a moment, as if he wasn't sure what I was talking about, but then he smirked and nodded. "Thanks for the warning."

I nodded, and then grabbed Harry's arm and walked away, wiping my lips as I did so.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked keeping stride with me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not quite sure what he was talking about.

"Well as far as I know, most girls don't look so angry when their boyfriend's kiss them," he said, then added as an afterthought, "At least I hope not."

I laughed, "No you're right. I just realized what the whole show was about."

"What do you mean?" he asked as we reached the portrait. He said the password and we climbed through.

"He was giving you a message. Basically, he wanted you know that I am his, so back off," I told him bitterly.

"You're whose?" Ron asked, catching the tail end of our conversation.

"Malfoy's," Harry told him bitterly, grimacing as he said the word.

"You go out with Malfoy?" Ron all but yelled, causing the few students who were in the room to look our way curiously.

"Shhh," I hushed him, taking a seat next to him by the fireplace. "Yeah, I am Malfoy's girlfriend, though I hoping that doesn't become too much of common knowledge," I told him a bit bitterly myself.

"She's not too happy about it though, if you didn't catch that," Harry told Ron.

"Well can you blame her? I mean it's Malfoy. Who wouldn't be upset with being stuck with him, with having to kiss him?" Ron said shuddering at the mere thought.

I started laughing, "Well, he's really not that bad of a kisser. He's actually amazing," I told them, watching them gag before asking, "Do you guys really hate him that much?"

They looked at each other for a moment, and then said, "Yes."

"Why?" I asked still laughing.

"Well for a start, he hates me because I'm a Weasley, and I'm not rich," Ron told me.

"He hates me because I'm Harry Potter," Harry added.

"And he hates Hermione because she is muggle born, and smarter than him, and that makes him hate us more, because we are friends with her," Ron finished.

"Well that is a lot of hate for stupid reasons on his part. But why do you guys hate him so much?" I pressed.

"Well first of all, he's obnoxious and arrogant. He walks around thinking he's better than everyone because he's rich and a pure blood," Harry told me.

"Besides, he's been doing his best to make our lives miserable for the last five years. That is a big part of it," Ron said matter-of-factly.

"Well those are better reasons," I said absently, wondering why Draco was so cruel to these people.

"So tell us, why do you like him?" Ron asked.

I just shrugged, "I have my reasons," I told him.

"C'mon. Don't tell me that you are going to say that he's not that bad and we have to just give him a chance because he's really a great guy," Ron said suspiciously.

Harry shook his head, "No she's not. I already asked. She knows exactly how much of a prat he can be."

"Then spill," Ron pressed. "Tell us why you don't hate him."

I sighed. "We've come to an understanding, that's all." I glanced at my watch, and noticed that it was started to get a bit late. "Shouldn't we start heading to class?" I asked.

Ron glanced at his watch. "We should hurry. We don't want to be late for Snape's class on the first day. He'll never let us forget that."

We all went up to our rooms and got our things for class before meeting back downstairs and making our way to class. On the way, Ron kept pestering me about my relationship with Draco, but somehow I managed to get away without answering his questions.

When we reached the class room, we found Hermione waiting outside of it with a pile of books. She started complaining about how much homework she already had from her first period. I felt a bit bad for her. Although I never had the class, from my parent studying the subject, I ended up taking an intrest in it and knew exactly how much work went into trying to translate all the symbols.

After a few moments, they went into the class room and I followed. I watched as Harry and Ron took a table together, and Hermione took a seat next to Neville, leaving me to find a place myself. I looked around the room until I saw a familiar looking blonde who was sitting by himself near the front of the room. Smiling to myself, I approached him.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked.

He looked at me and smirked. "Are you sure that you want to be seen with a Slytherin? Or have they not turned you against me yet?"

I shook my head, "No such luck. I just thought it would be appropriate with me being your girlfriend and all. You did make a point of branding me in front of Harry after all," I told him sitting down. I looked around the room at the décor, and notice that it was a bit graphic. The walls were covered with portraits of people who appeared to be tortured. Their faces were all contorted into gruesome expressions, and some barely looked human at all in their pain. "This teacher must be rather morbid," I muttered to Draco looking around.

Draco laughed, "He's an alright guy as long as you stay on his good side."

No sooner did the words leave his mouth, did the doors slam open and a tall, thin, pale man came striding into the class, with his black robes billowing dramatically behind him. Upon sight of this familiar man, I could do nothing more but stare at him for a few moments in disbelief.

He strode to the front of the class, and then turned to look at us with his black eyes and a look of disgust on his face. I couldn't could my surprise any longer, and blurted out, "SEVERUS?"

His dark eyes fell on me and a scowl contorted his features. "Ms. Wizidore, you are to address me as Professor Snape or Sir at all times. Is that understood?"

I was still so shocked at seeing my old private teacher that the only thing I could saw was, "You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"Yes, do you have a problem with this?" he asked glaring down at me.

"No sir just surprised. I mean with your past and all," I told him regaining my composure.

"Enough," he said sharply. He glared at me for a few more seconds before speaking again. "Now if there are no more interruptions," he said, pausing as if daring someone to interrupt him, "We will now begin class."

There was a bunch of rustling as everyone started to take out their books. "I did not tell you to take out you books," Snape snapped at us. Everyone froze for a moment before dropping their books back into their bags.

After a few moments of silence, he launched into his lecture, "Many of you may feel accomplished to have gotten this far in Defense, and I must say I am surprised that most of you have. Though I must tell you that your past teachers have been mediocre at best, and none of them had any idea of the true power that lies within the Dark Arts. The Dark Arts are forever changing, and more powerful than anyone of you could even dream of. Right now most of you may only be familiar with the 3 Unforgivable Curses, but there are others that are worse, and more painful. There are curses that would make you beg for death, and none of you, and I do mean none of you," he said looking pointedly at me, "would stand a chance against them.

"As of now, the only spells you most like know are to disarm and to stun or bind your opponent. These will not suffice against anyone who is truly trained in the Dark Arts. They are the must elementary of what you will use in this class. If you are able to get through this class, you may stand a chance at surviving in the real world."

I couldn't suppress my giggles. Draco nudged me, trying to tell me to be quiet, but it was too late, and the damage was already done. Snape looked at me with pure hate in his black eyes, and I just smiled up at him. "Do you find something funny, Miss Wizidore?" he asked coldly.

"As a matter of fact I do," I replied, hearing a couple people gasp in the room. "I find your speech a bit overly dramatic. I mean you make it seem as if all you have to do in order to survive is to know the counter spells. A person could know all of the spells and curses in the world, but it wouldn't do them a bit of good if they can't react quickly enough. In some cases, a well placed _Expelliarmus _or _Stupefy _could be just as effective, if not more so, than any Dark curse or counter curse. Besides, you speak more with a love of the Dark Arts than with any real desire to teach us to protect ourselves from them."

He glared at me for a moment before responding. "Ten points from Gryffindor for wasting our time with that obvious yet idiotic point of elementary spells and reactions." Draco snickered next to me, and I elbowed him, causing him to fall silent. "Although, since you were the one to bring up reaction, you can help me demonstrate today's lesson," Snape told me, motioning for me to come to the front of the room.

"Today we are going to practice the art of non-verbal magic. Can anyone tell me what the advantage of you non-verbal magic is?"

The only one who raised their hand to answer was Hermione, who looked about ready to jump out of her seat, but Snape refuse to acknowledge her.

"I believe Hermione knows the answer," I said.

He turned and towered over me, "You are to remain silent unless I address you, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," I said, trying my hardest to refrain from rolling my eyes.

He turned back to the class, "Mr. Potter, tell us what the advantage is."

Harry looked flustered, and I knew he didn't know the answer, and that was exactly why Snape chose him to answer. Snape was angry at me, so he was taking it out on poor Harry. I decided to intervene.

_Non-verbal magic prevents your opponent from knowing which spells you are going to cast, _I told him telepathically.

Harry met my eyes for a mere second, and then turned back to Snape, looking exceedingly nervous. "Um, non-verbal magic gives you an advantage because," he paused, and I wasn't sure whether or not he was going to answer, but he continued, "your opponent won't know what spells you are going to use."

A heave silence fell over the classroom as Snape stared at Harry, seemingly speechless. Then, in a swift movement, he turned and bore down on me, resembling a bull, with his usually pale skin turning a bit red, and his greasy black hair falling into his face. I could sense his fury radiating off of him. "Did you tell him the answer?" he almost yelled.

"No, sir. Wouldn't you have heard me if I did?" I asked, feigning innocence.

He locked eyes with me as though we were in a staring contest, but I knew what he was really doing. He was trying to figure out whether or not I was lying. I could sense him trying to use Legilimens to penetrate my mind, but my mental defenses prevented him. Finally he turned away saying, "You have detention, Saturday night in my office. Now, take your stance and prepare to duel."

I crossed the room and took out my wanted, and then waited for directions that didn't come. Luckily for me, I already learned how to do non-verbal magic last year, because before I realized what was happening, a jinx flew at me, and I was just barely able to deflect it, causing it to fly up and hit the ceiling, causing sparks and stones to shower down on the classroom.

"Acceptable, but just barely," Snape commented dryly. "Now, you try."

I smirked, and then attempted to jinx him. He lazily cast a shield charm so strong that I was knocked backwards, onto the floor.

Snape smirked down at me, "Well as feeble as that was, at least you managed some form of a jinx."

Glaring at him, I stood up and jinxed him again. This time, it was so powerful that it knocked him backwards so that he was only able to maintain his balance by grabbing a near by table to steady himself.

His eyes blazed with anger, and before I was able provide any type of defense, a jinx hit me squarely in the chest. My entire body erupted with pain, and I was dimly aware of the fact that I was screaming.

After a few seconds which felt like an eternity, the pain faded, but my body still tingled unpleasantly. I opened my eyes, which I had evidently closed in pain, and saw Snape and Draco kneeling next to me. They both appeared to be calm and in control, but I could sense the underlying panic in both of them, and their thoughts started to creep into my mind,

_What have I done? Why do I always let her get to me like this? This girl is going to cause me my job. She's going to ruin everything…_

_She better be alright. If Snape did anything to hurt her, he'll regret it…_

Their thoughts began as a low murmur, but were soon joined by those of the others in the class, and before I could regain control, it was as if they were all screaming inside of my head.

I cradled my head in my arms trying to close my mind, but I couldn't. I felt some one nudge my arm and I looked up to see Snape holding a potion out to me. I saw his lips move as he spoke to me, but I couldn't hear him. I drank the potion, and slowly started to regain control over myself.

Finally I was able to stand up with their help. Draco looked at me intently, "Are you okay?" he asked, his arm around my waist to prevent me from falling.

"I'm fine," I said, hearing hoarseness in my voice.

"You should go to the Hospital Wing to make sure," Snape told me, an unrecognizable emotion in his voice.

"I said I'm fine," I snapped. Then added telepathically, _besides, you wouldn't want word to get out that you have been using Dark Arts on your students, would you?_

He studied me for a moment, an unreadable expression in his eyes, "Very well. Return to your seats, both of you," he said, motioning to Draco as well.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Draco asked quietly as we made our way back to our seats. I just nodded and tried to forget all that had just happened.

"That was a perfect example of what can happen if you are not prepared," Snape told the class in his could demeanor. I smiled to myself. It was just like Snape to try and blame me for his inability to control himself. "Now, you are all going to practice on each other, and if any one tries to reenact what just happened, there will be dire consequences. Now begin."

There was a rustling and scraping of chairs as everyone stood up and they prepared themselves, but then silence descended as everyone started to look around, seemingly at a lost as to what to do. After a few minutes, everyone began to try, strain and concentration contorting their faces as they struggled to produce a jinx. For a long time, no one was successful.

It didn't take long for me to get tired of waiting for Draco to jinx me. Finally I just went over to him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" he snapped.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I know you're frustrated, so I'll let that slide. I mean how are you going about trying to get the spell to work?"

"I'm thinking it," he said angrily.

I shook my head. "No wonder," I mumbled. I thought for a few seconds about which approach was best. After I decided, I turned him so that he was facing a near by table with a quill on it. "Let's try something different. Try focusing on the quill, and get a mental picture of it."

"Marlene, this is stupid. What does this have to do with jinxing anyone?" he asked stubbornly.

I hit him lightly on the arm. "Stop being so difficult and trust me," I told him. "Now take a deep breath. Clear your mind of everything except the quill and my voice." Reluctantly he did so, but I could still sense his frustration and anger. "You're angry," I said simply.

"Well I'm sorry. Not everyone can learn as quickly as you," he snapped.

Glaring at him, I passed my hand slowly across his face, sending him positive energy to calm him down. He posture relaxed, and his eyes glazed a bit. "Calmer?" I asked. He nodded almost dreamily, and I hit him on the shoulder. "Good, now stop acting like such a jerk."

I sensed his anger start to rise again, so I put my hand on his shoulder to calm him back down. Then I walked him through the steps. "Now close your eyes and envision the quill. Imagine that it is levitating." I paused and watched as his eyebrows furrowed with concentration. "Now imagine yourself casting _Wingardium Leviosa _verbally." I looked at the quill and saw it starting to levitate a bit. "Now open your eyes and cast the spell non-verbally."

He opened his eyes, which were beautiful in their intensity, as they seemed to glow as he focused on the quill. With a swift movement of his wand, the quill began to levitate. He floated it around for a minute before letting it fall back on the table.

I gave him a quick hug. "You did it!"

He smirked. "Was there any doubt? I mean I am a Malfoy after all."

"That would have been much more impressive if this was Charms," Snape said coldly from behind us. "Five points from each of you."

"I don't understand," I protested although Draco tried to stop me. "You told us to practice non-verbal magic and we did."

"You were supposed to practice in terms of Defense Against the Dark Arts, not Charms," he told me icily.

"What difference does it make? None of the students in here even know how to do non-verbal magic. If it's easier to learn charms first, then why shouldn't they? They have to start some where."

"You are correct, you don't understand. Students will learn charms in Charms, not in here. I am the teacher, not you. You are to do as I say, and you will not question my authority. If you have a problem wit this, get out of my class." I thought about leaving, but I knew it would just make him happy, so I just held my tongue and said nothing. "Very well, now get back to practice. And of Defense, not Charms," he said before walking away.

After a few more minutes of practice, Draco was able to manage to perform a jinx and to block one. It looked as if Hermione was the only other one to succeed, but Snape ignored her accomplishments. She looked used to it, but I could tell that she was disappointed.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Snape gave us a homework assignment, making us write a foot on the proper techniques for using non-verbal magic, and dismissed us. He asked me to stay behind though, so I waited until the last student packed up their things and left before approaching his desk.

"What, may I ask, did you think you were going to accomplish with your little show in class?" he asked.

"I wasn't trying to make a show. Besides, you were the one who almost killed me, not the other way around," I responded defensively. He got under my skin just as much and I got under his.

"In trying to get the best of me, you are only going to hurt yourself. This is not the same situation as before. You will show me respect here. We will not engage in these pointless challenges."

"Severus, do not try to blame this all on me. You are an adult. You should be able to control your temper. Besides you disrespect your students and make them feel like they are fools. I will not let you do that to me."

He looked at me appraisingly for a moment before responding. "Okay, you don't like me very much, and I don't like you. Let's just respect each other as much as we can and stay out of each others way. Believe it or not, I'm trying to protect you."

I laughed. "Protect me? Severus, you've tried to kill me, and more than once."

"If I had tried to kill you, you would be dead. You don't understand the amount of power you have. If everyone just takes it easy on you, it will never develop to its full potential. You could do so much Marlene," he told me with a slighly dreamy tone in his voice.

I scoffed. "You sound like Uncle Damien," I told him, causing him to reel back. My uncle was power hungry and was often found trying to turn me into some kind of weapon of destruction. "You have always been obsessed with power. That's why you fell in with the Dark Lord. Sometimes I wonder if you're not trying to make me into the next ruler," I said absently. He eyes hardened and I felt his mental defenses strengthen. I laughed, "Don't worry Severus. I won't use my powers on you. I won't tell Uncle Albus about earlier either, so your job is safe."

I turned and started to walk away, but he stopped me, "Marlene, be careful about who you choose to befriend. Not everyone here will be looking out for your best interests, and you may find yourself in your own little war."

I looked at him and smiled. "Why Severus, one would almost think that you cared," I told him before leaving.


	6. Old Friends

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Six:** Old Friends

* * *

I stepped out of Snape's room and took a deep breath. This was going to be a long year. Now on top of everything else I have to worry about, I have to add Snape to the list. It's just great.

I started walking down the hall, and I heard a voice call my name. It took me a moment or two to recognize Draco standing in the shadows of a statue. "Is everything alright?" he asked finally emerging so that I could see him fully.

"Everything's fine," I told him linking my arm with his and leading us down the hall.

"So what did Snape want?" he asked trying to sound cordial, but I could hear the hint of anger in his voice.

"He was just warning me," I told him almost absently.

He stopped and turned me so that I was facing him, "Did he threaten you?" he asked, his temper rising.

I sighed, "No Draco, as I said he was warning me. In his own, absurd way he was trying to help me."

He didn't look convinced. "Are you sure he didn't hurt you?"

"Yes, Draco," I told him in a bored voice.

"What about earlier?" he asked.

I groaned. "I was pushing his buttons and he lost control. It was my fault. I knew that he was going to do something like that. He fixed whatever happened and no there's no more pain. It's fine, it's no big deal."

"You shouldn't have been in pain in the first place Marlene," he told me angrily.

"Maybe, but a lot of things that shouldn't happen, happen anyways. What's done is done. Let's just forget about it." He still looked a bit worried so I rolled my eyes at him and told him to stop worrying.

"Marlene, how can I not worry? So many things can go wrong. You have no idea what can happen to you if you get caught," he told me angrily, as if he were talking to a little kid who just didn't understand something.

I knew he was cared about me and that's why he was acting like this so I held my temper and gave him a hug. "Draco, thank you for worrying, but everything will be fine. I'm used to living with the danger. I know how to handle myself."

He put his arms around me, "I hope so."

We stood there for a few minutes in an embrace before we heard some one clearing their throat from behind us. We both let go of each other and turned to see Snape watching us, looking quite disgusted.

"Draco, I was just looking for you. I would like to speak with you about a few things. Please come to my office after dinner," Snape said, holding Draco's piercing stare with his own.

"Yes, sir," Draco replied icily.

Snape raised an eyebrow at the cold tone, but made no comment. He then turned and handed me a piece of parchment. "Here's the information for your detention. Don't be late. Now I believe you two have someplace to be other than this hallway."

"We are on a break right now," I told him.

He glared at me, "Well then I suggest you study someplace. You do have homework, and I expect it to be thorough and well done, especially from you Wizidore. I wish to see if you can hold up to your reputation." Then he turned and returned back to his room.

Draco and I walked down the hall a ways before I asked him, "You don't have a class to get to do you?"

He chuckled a bit. "No, right now we are on break, and then I have a free period."

We compared schedules and realized that they were nearly identical. He just had one more class than me. Upon realizing this, he smirked and said, "This promises to be an interesting year."

"Yes, it does," I said, imagining his reaction when he finds out that Harry and Ron also have the same classes as us.

"So we have quite a while until lunch, what should we do until then?" he asked, with his eyes almost glowing.

I laughed and shrugged. "Why don't you show me around the school some more? I'm sure you have a few secret spots."

He put his arm around my waist and started walking. "If I showed you my secret places, they wouldn't be so secret anymore now would they?" he said leading me up a flight of stairs.

"I can keep a secret," I told him laughing.

We joked and played around, almost like old times when we would use each other to forget the pain of our lives at home. Soon though, I saw a window, and when I looked out I was greeted with a beautiful view of the grounds. In one direction, the lake stretched out with birds flying gracefully across it, sometimes coming so low that they would skim the water. In another direction was the forest, which was lush and green and continued farther than the eye could see. I spotted a small hut sitting by the edge if the forest, quite a ways away across the green, hilly grounds and knew that I would love to meet the person who lived there.

I turned to Draco and gave him my most charming and beautiful smile. "Can we please go outside?" I pleaded, taking his hands in mine.

He rolled his eyes. "I should have known you'd want to go outside. You were always such a nature lover. Come on, let's go."

He led me outside, where we walked around the lake for a little while until we came to a tree with a magnificent view and sat down. I pulled my DADA book from my bag and started reading.

Draco gave me an odd look before asking, "What in the world are you doing?"

I glanced at him for a moment before saying, "Studying. You should too," I told him.

He groaned. "You and the Mudblood should get along great. It's the first day of school, and you're already studying."

"The Mudblood?" I asked angrily. I have always hated when purebloods acted so derogatory towards muggle borns and half bloods. It is something that I find completely idiotic.

He misunderstood my anger for confusion and continued, "Yeah, Granger. She's always studying. She's such a know it all."

"Don't call her a Mudblood," I told him seriously.

"Why not?" he asked, sounding a bit taken back at my tone.

"It's derogatory and disgusting. It makes it sound as if you think you are better than her because you are a pure blood," I told him. He gave me a look as if to say that he was, so I added, "Besides, it sounds like something your father would say."

He growled. "Fine, I won't call her that anymore."

We both fell into a silence I tried to continue reading for a few minutes before I gave up and put down my book and asked, "Draco, what do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

He didn't answer right away, but instead seemed to think about it quite intently. "I'm not sure. Ever since I was little, I was raised to take after my father. I was supposed to take over his positions, become a Death Eater, and help the Dark Lord if he ever returned to power. Now that he's in Azkaban, I can make my own choices, but I'm not really sure what I should do."

"Well if you could do anything, what would it be?" I asked.

He shrugged, then grinned, "I'd be the Minister of Magic. Merlin knows we need a new one."

I laughed, "Yeah that sounds like you. You would have to be less prejudice though. You couldn't just use your power to punish those you don't like."

He drew himself up, making him look rather haughty, "I am not prejudice. I would be fair to everyone."

"Even Harry, Ron, and Hermione?" I asked skeptically.

He slouched down again. "Okay, I get the point. What about you? What do you want to do?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? Right now I'm signed up for classes to become an Auror, so maybe I'll just do that until…" I trailed off remembering that my decisions were not always my own.

When I was born, there were several prophecies made about me, two of which I know. One of them prophesized my great power and abilities, saying that I would be an invaluable ally and unstoppable force to which ever side I was on, and the other said that I would be the leader of the wizarding world, either bringing our world into light, or unfathomable darkness. I never told anyone of these prophecies though. The pressure of my knowing these is almost too much, having everyone else know and pressuring me would make things truly unbearable. Telling Draco would have put both of us in great danger. Since he is bound to me by magic, if he were to tell anyone for whatever reason, he would die, and then I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

I was so lost in thought that I forgot that I had been in the middle of a sentence until I felt Draco shaking me gently. "Marlene, are you alright?" he asked, sounding worried.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts before responding, "I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"Okay. So what were you saying? You were thinking about being an Auror until…something."

"Oh, until I found something else to do," I said, which wasn't a complete lie. Leading the wizarding world was something else.

We fell into another comfortable silence for a few minutes before he asked, "So how do you know Snape?"

I groaned, and then laid down, lying my head in his lap. "Dear ole Severus was an old mentor of mine. Usually during the summer he would come to wherever I was staying and teach me all sorts of stuff. Mostly it was Potions and Defense and Dark Arts. We never got a long too well. He was too condescending for my taste, and he thought that I was arrogant and too sheltered from the real world. He might have been right, but I had a bit of an upper hand. So I learned how to push his buttons, and he didn't appreciate it."

"When did he stop mentoring you?" Draco asked, while he ran his fingers through my hair in a soothing repetition.

"It was about a year or two before I met you. He got into trouble, and Uncle Albus asked him to leave, though I doubted that he was too disappointed. It seemed like he didn't want to be there. Uncle Albus probably made him."

"Why'd he get into trouble?"

I laughed. "Well it was mostly my fault. Sometimes I would get him so angry by complaining that he was going so slowly in teaching me and that he probably didn't even really know what he was doing that he would challenge me to a duel. Well grown masters aren't supposed to duel their young pupils. Anyways, one day Uncle Albus walked in and saw us and was furious. He made Severus leave, and I haven't seen him since. Well until today." I realized that I've said that a few times the last few days about people. They were all popping up through the woodwork it seemed.

Draco laughed, "Great going. He's going to make your year horrible."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from dear ole Severus," I told him, adjusting my head so I was in a more comfortable position. "Hopefully he won't take it out on you. I have already noticed that he has a habit of using his students to take out his frustration."

Draco shook his head, "I should be fine. Snape is good friends with my father. He's become some what of a guardian for me. He's helped me a lot when things have gotten tough. As long as I stay on track and obey him, he should leave me alone."

Another comfortable silence fell between us before I asked, "Why do you hate Harry, Ron and Hermione?"

He sighed, "Don't worry about it. And don't try to play peacemaker either. There have been bad feelings between all of us for too many years to just try to put that away and become friends."

I was going to argue with him, but then decided against it. I had all year to see if I could get the four on better terms, so there was no use in pushing it now. "Alright," I told him, and then turned my head so that I could look out over the lake.

"What are you planning?" he asked, sounding very suspicious.

I laughed. "Nothing, I swear. I promise, I'm not going to try to make you talk to anyone you don't want to. It's not any of my business."

He eyed me for a second before saying, "You're up to something. I don't know what it is, but I will find out."

"You really do worry too much," I told him before sitting up a bit so that I could kiss him. After a few seconds I pulled away from him and asked, "So am I really your girlfriend, or were you just saying that to annoy Harry."

He pretended to look me over before responding, "No, you're really my girlfriend. Annoying Potter was just an added bonus."

I laughed and asked, "So no other girls, right?"

A small smile played on his lips as he remembered that it was the same thing I asked him two years ago when we first started going out. "No other girls," he told me softly before pulling me closer to him and kissing me.

It was nice. We sat there for awhile in each others arms kissing, oblivious to everything except for each other. That is until he suddenly pulled away asking what time it was.

When I told him, he almost threw me off of him. "We're gong to be late for class!" he exclaimed sounding genuinely upset.

I couldn't help but to laugh. He tries to act all tough, but here he was getting upset because he thought he was going to be late. "We aren't going to be late," I told him standing up and gathering my things.

"What do you mean? We have five minutes and our class is in the dungeon, all the way on the other side of the school," he told me while standing up and looking like he was starting to panic.

"We'll only need two. Just trust me," I told him, kissing him one last time. "Now hold on tight," I said putting his arms around my waist.

He pulled me firmly against him and smirked. "I'm not quite sure how this is going to get us to class, but I like it."

I rolled my eyes at him and said, "Just close your eyes." He did what he was told, and I dove into his mind to find a mental map of the school. I identified a room near the Potions class that would most likely be empty and concentrated on it. Suddenly everything began to spin, and the ground dropped out from beneath us for a few seconds, before we landed, and hard. If we hadn't been holding onto each other so tightly, we most certainly would have fallen.

"Wow, that was so much more uncomfortable than outside of Hogwarts," I said absently with my head still spinning and wondering how I managed to do that last night without realizing it.

When everything seemed to still, I looked up at Draco. His eyes were wide and he looked shocked. "How did you do that? It's impossible."

I grinned up at him. "Magic," I said playing off of the muggle saying before walking out of the room.

He followed me looking very confused. "I know its magic, but how?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You are such a Pureblood," I told him entering the potions room.

He looked scandalized, "Of course I am. I'm a Malfoy. What does that have to do with anything?"

I sat down at an empty table, shaking my head, "You are hopeless, Draco."

"I have absolutely no idea what you are spouting on about," he said sitting heavily in the seat beside me.

"Exactly, so just drop it. I'll explain it later. It looks like it will take some time." Besides, several of the other students were looking at us curiously. We were drawing more attention to us than I liked.

"No, explain now," he told me stubbornly.

"Why must you be such a jerk?" I asked exasperated. My little joke, my play on words, was turning out to be something that was overly complicated, and getting out of hand. I just wanted to forget about it.

"Why don't you just tell me what you are talking about?" Draco told me crossing his arms.

I was about to retort but the professor walked into the room and caused me to forget about the bickering with Draco. He was tall, tanned, young, and thin, with shoulder length dark blonde hair and a long scar along the left side of his face that marred his otherwise perfect and very handsome features. There was something incredibly familiar about him, but I thought it was impossible for him to be who I though he was. That is until he looked directly at me and smiled. Then I knew for sure. He was another one of my old mentors, Xavier.

He grinned at me when he saw the dawn of recognition in my eyes and approached me. I stood up and gave him a little bow, like he would always make me do before we would start our lesson. He would tell me that it showed great respect and honored the fact that I acknowledged the fact that he was a master. I personally think he just made me do it to feel more important, but I've always had a great fondness for him, so I followed his rules. He laughed at me and the fact that I remembered his crazy rules. "Marlene, I'm glad that you remembered my rules of respect, but there is no longer any need for such formalities. I think that it will be a bit hard to have the entire class following them. It would get a bit too complicated," he told me.

We looked at each other for a moment before I gave him a hug. "Xavier, why didn't you tell me that you were coming here?" I asked after we let go of each other.

He laughed. "I did! Didn't you get my letter?"

I thought about it for a second, before realizing that I did indeed get a letter from him in the morning, but got so distracted with everything happening throughout the day, that I didn't read it. I felt myself blush, "I got the letter, but I didn't get a chance to read it yet. It's been a crazy day."

He laughed again. "I'll bet, but now the whole purpose of the letter is ruined! And to think I spend a long time trying to figure out how to tell you."

I started to feel really bad, and looked down at the floor. He gently lifted my chin so that I would have to look into his beautiful hazel eyes. "It's alright, I was just messing with you, but we'll have to catch up some other time. Right now I have to start class," he told me grinning happily and taking his place at the front of the class.

He surveyed the class for a few seconds trying to get a feel for everything before starting to speak. "Welcome to N.E.W.T. Potions. I am Professor Jamison. I take it that if you are all in this class that you have done a pretty good job thus far. Well actually, knowing Professor Snape, I would probably be safe in saying that you all do very well in order to pass his class with your sanity still in tact." There were a few snickers around the room. I looked at Draco, and he seemed distant and angry about something, probably my closeness with Xavier.

"Well I think that today we will start off with a relatively simple potion, just so that I can see how you guys do. On the board, I have written the ingredients required, and you can find the instructions on page 87 in your books. You may work with a partner and begin when you are ready."

"So where do we start partner?" I asked, turning to Draco.

He glared at me for a moment before muttering, "I'll go get the ingredients." I watched as he walked away, and it looked as if a dark cloud was hanging over him. The other students instinctively moved out of his path, as if no one dared to get in his way.

While he was getting the ingredients, Harry came up to me. "Hey, how's the first day going?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It's pretty good I guess. Much more surprising than I thought it would be. I wonder if there will be anyone else here that I find that I know."

He laughed. "I was looking for you during lunch, but I didn't see you."

For some reason, I felt a bit uncomfortable and was tempted to lie, but decided against it. I would probably have to lie enough over the year, so I wanted to be a truthful as I could. "Oh, I'm sorry. Draco and I were catching up and kind of lost track of time. We were almost late coming to class."

"It's alright. I was just hoping that you didn't get lost. It'll take awhile to find your way through the school without getting lost too many times."

I laughed. "You don't still get lost do you?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I always seem to find my way out of trouble." He looked towards Draco and seen that he almost had all of his ingredients and would soon be returning. "Well, I better get out of here. I just wanted to make sure that you alright."

"Thanks Harry." I said as he went back to his table to wait for Ron.

Draco returned to the table and dropped the ingredients on the table rather violently. "What did Potter want?" he nearly growled.

"He just wanted to see how my day was going. He thought I might have gotten lost since I wasn't at lunch," I explained, ignoring his temper.

"I wish he would get lost," Draco mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "Do not start this. He's my friend, Draco. He's just a friend. We are in the same house, we have the same classes. We are going to have to work together. If you don't like him fine, stay away from him. But if I'm around, would you please just act civil towards him?" He pretended to ignore me and started with the potion. "You can't ignore me Draco, we are partners."

He started mixing things together haphazardly and I could tell that if I didn't stop him soon, the whole mixture was going to blow up in our faces, quite literally. "Draco, stop before you get us hurt," I told him, pulling his hands away from the cauldron and ingredients.

He turned to me, and his eyes were like ice. "Let go of me," he said in a cold, dangerous voice.

I let go of him. "You're messing up the potion," I told him simply.

"You do it then," he said harshly before sitting down.

I shrugged, "Alright." I spent the rest of the double potions working mainly by myself. Draco did help once and a while. I guess he felt bad that I was doing all the work. Mostly though, he just kept yelling at me because I wasn't following the directions exactly.

"The potion's going to be ruined and we are going to fail on the first day," he told me angrily.

"Well since you're not helping, why do you care?" I snapped. His attitude was getting on my nerves. He grumbled a bit before turning away. "Just trust me okay? I know what I'm doing."

At the end of class, everyone's results varied. Mine came out nearly perfect. Hermione's and Neville's came out pretty good as well. Harry's and Ron's potion looked a bit sick and as if it were going to blow up at any moment. No one else did much better than them.

As Professor Jamison walked around to see how every one did, he seemed a bit dejected. I could tell he had high hopes for the class, and they fell decidedly below his expectations. When he checked my potion though, he smiled and said, "I'm glad that you've remembered what you've learned. You must have had a good partner as well."

I did nothing to take all the credit, and Draco just scowled. I started cleaning up, and heard him checking on Hermione's potion. "Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom, that's not bad at all. You both show some real potential." Hermione beamed and Neville looked like he was going to faint.

After a few seconds of my cleaning, and Draco sitting there moodily looking at me, I snapped. "Would you at least help me clean up? Or is that too much to ask of a Malfoy?"

His jaw clenched, and I could tell that I probably had crossed a line, but it got him in motion. Unfortunately, he was so angry that he started breaking things as he "cleaned up," so I still did most of it myself.

As soon as we were released, Draco stormed out of the room. I didn't bother following him because I knew all I would do is make things worse. Several of our classmates looked at me, wondering what happened, but I just ignored them and left the classroom.


	7. Trouble in Paradise

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Six:** Old Friends

* * *

I stepped out of Snape's room and took a deep breath. This was going to be a long year. Now on top of everything else I have to worry about, I have to add Snape to the list. It's just great.

I started walking down the hall, and I heard a voice call my name. It took me a moment or two to recognize Draco standing in the shadows of a statue. "Is everything alright?" he asked finally emerging so that I could see him fully.

"Everything's fine," I told him linking my arm with his and leading us down the hall.

"So what did Snape want?" he asked trying to sound cordial, but I could hear the hint of anger in his voice.

"He was just warning me," I told him almost absently.

He stopped and turned me so that I was facing him, "Did he threaten you?" he asked, his temper rising.

I sighed, "No Draco, as I said he was warning me. In his own, absurd way he was trying to help me."

He didn't look convinced. "Are you sure he didn't hurt you?"

"Yes, Draco," I told him in a bored voice.

"What about earlier?" he asked.

I groaned. "I was pushing his buttons and he lost control. It was my fault. I knew that he was going to do something like that. He fixed whatever happened and no there's no more pain. It's fine, it's no big deal."

"You shouldn't have been in pain in the first place Marlene," he told me angrily.

"Maybe, but a lot of things that shouldn't happen, happen anyways. What's done is done. Let's just forget about it." He still looked a bit worried so I rolled my eyes at him and told him to stop worrying.

"Marlene, how can I not worry? So many things can go wrong. You have no idea what can happen to you if you get caught," he told me angrily, as if he were talking to a little kid who just didn't understand something.

I knew he was cared about me and that's why he was acting like this so I held my temper and gave him a hug. "Draco, thank you for worrying, but everything will be fine. I'm used to living with the danger. I know how to handle myself."

He put his arms around me, "I hope so."

We stood there for a few minutes in an embrace before we heard some one clearing their throat from behind us. We both let go of each other and turned to see Snape watching us, looking quite disgusted.

"Draco, I was just looking for you. I would like to speak with you about a few things. Please come to my office after dinner," Snape said, holding Draco's piercing stare with his own.

"Yes, sir," Draco replied icily.

Snape raised an eyebrow at the cold tone, but made no comment. He then turned and handed me a piece of parchment. "Here's the information for your detention. Don't be late. Now I believe you two have someplace to be other than this hallway."

"We are on a break right now," I told him.

He glared at me, "Well then I suggest you study someplace. You do have homework, and I expect it to be thorough and well done, especially from you Wizidore. I wish to see if you can hold up to your reputation." Then he turned and returned back to his room.

Draco and I walked down the hall a ways before I asked him, "You don't have a class to get to do you?"

He chuckled a bit. "No, right now we are on break, and then I have a free period."

We compared schedules and realized that they were nearly identical. He just had one more class than me. Upon realizing this, he smirked and said, "This promises to be an interesting year."

"Yes, it does," I said, imagining his reaction when he finds out that Harry and Ron also have the same classes as us.

"So we have quite a while until lunch, what should we do until then?" he asked, with his eyes almost glowing.

I laughed and shrugged. "Why don't you show me around the school some more? I'm sure you have a few secret spots."

He put his arm around my waist and started walking. "If I showed you my secret places, they wouldn't be so secret anymore now would they?" he said leading me up a flight of stairs.

"I can keep a secret," I told him laughing.

We joked and played around, almost like old times when we would use each other to forget the pain of our lives at home. Soon though, I saw a window, and when I looked out I was greeted with a beautiful view of the grounds. In one direction, the lake stretched out with birds flying gracefully across it, sometimes coming so low that they would skim the water. In another direction was the forest, which was lush and green and continued farther than the eye could see. I spotted a small hut sitting by the edge if the forest, quite a ways away across the green, hilly grounds and knew that I would love to meet the person who lived there.

I turned to Draco and gave him my most charming and beautiful smile. "Can we please go outside?" I pleaded, taking his hands in mine.

He rolled his eyes. "I should have known you'd want to go outside. You were always such a nature lover. Come on, let's go."

He led me outside, where we walked around the lake for a little while until we came to a tree with a magnificent view and sat down. I pulled my DADA book from my bag and started reading.

Draco gave me an odd look before asking, "What in the world are you doing?"

I glanced at him for a moment before saying, "Studying. You should too," I told him.

He groaned. "You and the Mudblood should get along great. It's the first day of school, and you're already studying."

"The Mudblood?" I asked angrily. I have always hated when purebloods acted so derogatory towards muggle borns and half bloods. It is something that I find completely idiotic.

He misunderstood my anger for confusion and continued, "Yeah, Granger. She's always studying. She's such a know it all."

"Don't call her a Mudblood," I told him seriously.

"Why not?" he asked, sounding a bit taken back at my tone.

"It's derogatory and disgusting. It makes it sound as if you think you are better than her because you are a pure blood," I told him. He gave me a look as if to say that he was, so I added, "Besides, it sounds like something your father would say."

He growled. "Fine, I won't call her that anymore."

We both fell into a silence I tried to continue reading for a few minutes before I gave up and put down my book and asked, "Draco, what do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

He didn't answer right away, but instead seemed to think about it quite intently. "I'm not sure. Ever since I was little, I was raised to take after my father. I was supposed to take over his positions, become a Death Eater, and help the Dark Lord if he ever returned to power. Now that he's in Azkaban, I can make my own choices, but I'm not really sure what I should do."

"Well if you could do anything, what would it be?" I asked.

He shrugged, then grinned, "I'd be the Minister of Magic. Merlin knows we need a new one."

I laughed, "Yeah that sounds like you. You would have to be less prejudice though. You couldn't just use your power to punish those you don't like."

He drew himself up, making him look rather haughty, "I am not prejudice. I would be fair to everyone."

"Even Harry, Ron, and Hermione?" I asked skeptically.

He slouched down again. "Okay, I get the point. What about you? What do you want to do?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? Right now I'm signed up for classes to become an Auror, so maybe I'll just do that until…" I trailed off remembering that my decisions were not always my own.

When I was born, there were several prophecies made about me, two of which I know. One of them prophesized my great power and abilities, saying that I would be an invaluable ally and unstoppable force to which ever side I was on, and the other said that I would be the leader of the wizarding world, either bringing our world into light, or unfathomable darkness. I never told anyone of these prophecies though. The pressure of my knowing these is almost too much, having everyone else know and pressuring me would make things truly unbearable. Telling Draco would have put both of us in great danger. Since he is bound to me by magic, if he were to tell anyone for whatever reason, he would die, and then I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

I was so lost in thought that I forgot that I had been in the middle of a sentence until I felt Draco shaking me gently. "Marlene, are you alright?" he asked, sounding worried.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts before responding, "I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"Okay. So what were you saying? You were thinking about being an Auror until…something."

"Oh, until I found something else to do," I said, which wasn't a complete lie. Leading the wizarding world was something else.

We fell into another comfortable silence for a few minutes before he asked, "So how do you know Snape?"

I groaned, and then laid down, lying my head in his lap. "Dear ole Severus was an old mentor of mine. Usually during the summer he would come to wherever I was staying and teach me all sorts of stuff. Mostly it was Potions and Defense and Dark Arts. We never got a long too well. He was too condescending for my taste, and he thought that I was arrogant and too sheltered from the real world. He might have been right, but I had a bit of an upper hand. So I learned how to push his buttons, and he didn't appreciate it."

"When did he stop mentoring you?" Draco asked, while he ran his fingers through my hair in a soothing repetition.

"It was about a year or two before I met you. He got into trouble, and Uncle Albus asked him to leave, though I doubted that he was too disappointed. It seemed like he didn't want to be there. Uncle Albus probably made him."

"Why'd he get into trouble?"

I laughed. "Well it was mostly my fault. Sometimes I would get him so angry by complaining that he was going so slowly in teaching me and that he probably didn't even really know what he was doing that he would challenge me to a duel. Well grown masters aren't supposed to duel their young pupils. Anyways, one day Uncle Albus walked in and saw us and was furious. He made Severus leave, and I haven't seen him since. Well until today." I realized that I've said that a few times the last few days about people. They were all popping up through the woodwork it seemed.

Draco laughed, "Great going. He's going to make your year horrible."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from dear ole Severus," I told him, adjusting my head so I was in a more comfortable position. "Hopefully he won't take it out on you. I have already noticed that he has a habit of using his students to take out his frustration."

Draco shook his head, "I should be fine. Snape is good friends with my father. He's become some what of a guardian for me. He's helped me a lot when things have gotten tough. As long as I stay on track and obey him, he should leave me alone."

Another comfortable silence fell between us before I asked, "Why do you hate Harry, Ron and Hermione?"

He sighed, "Don't worry about it. And don't try to play peacemaker either. There have been bad feelings between all of us for too many years to just try to put that away and become friends."

I was going to argue with him, but then decided against it. I had all year to see if I could get the four on better terms, so there was no use in pushing it now. "Alright," I told him, and then turned my head so that I could look out over the lake.

"What are you planning?" he asked, sounding very suspicious.

I laughed. "Nothing, I swear. I promise, I'm not going to try to make you talk to anyone you don't want to. It's not any of my business."

He eyed me for a second before saying, "You're up to something. I don't know what it is, but I will find out."

"You really do worry too much," I told him before sitting up a bit so that I could kiss him. After a few seconds I pulled away from him and asked, "So am I really your girlfriend, or were you just saying that to annoy Harry."

He pretended to look me over before responding, "No, you're really my girlfriend. Annoying Potter was just an added bonus."

I laughed and asked, "So no other girls, right?"

A small smile played on his lips as he remembered that it was the same thing I asked him two years ago when we first started going out. "No other girls," he told me softly before pulling me closer to him and kissing me.

It was nice. We sat there for awhile in each others arms kissing, oblivious to everything except for each other. That is until he suddenly pulled away asking what time it was.

When I told him, he almost threw me off of him. "We're gong to be late for class!" he exclaimed sounding genuinely upset.

I couldn't help but to laugh. He tries to act all tough, but here he was getting upset because he thought he was going to be late. "We aren't going to be late," I told him standing up and gathering my things.

"What do you mean? We have five minutes and our class is in the dungeon, all the way on the other side of the school," he told me while standing up and looking like he was starting to panic.

"We'll only need two. Just trust me," I told him, kissing him one last time. "Now hold on tight," I said putting his arms around my waist.

He pulled me firmly against him and smirked. "I'm not quite sure how this is going to get us to class, but I like it."

I rolled my eyes at him and said, "Just close your eyes." He did what he was told, and I dove into his mind to find a mental map of the school. I identified a room near the Potions class that would most likely be empty and concentrated on it. Suddenly everything began to spin, and the ground dropped out from beneath us for a few seconds, before we landed, and hard. If we hadn't been holding onto each other so tightly, we most certainly would have fallen.

"Wow, that was so much more uncomfortable than outside of Hogwarts," I said absently with my head still spinning and wondering how I managed to do that last night without realizing it.

When everything seemed to still, I looked up at Draco. His eyes were wide and he looked shocked. "How did you do that? It's impossible."

I grinned up at him. "Magic," I said playing off of the muggle saying before walking out of the room.

He followed me looking very confused. "I know its magic, but how?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "You are such a Pureblood," I told him entering the potions room.

He looked scandalized, "Of course I am. I'm a Malfoy. What does that have to do with anything?"

I sat down at an empty table, shaking my head, "You are hopeless, Draco."

"I have absolutely no idea what you are spouting on about," he said sitting heavily in the seat beside me.

"Exactly, so just drop it. I'll explain it later. It looks like it will take some time." Besides, several of the other students were looking at us curiously. We were drawing more attention to us than I liked.

"No, explain now," he told me stubbornly.

"Why must you be such a jerk?" I asked exasperated. My little joke, my play on words, was turning out to be something that was overly complicated, and getting out of hand. I just wanted to forget about it.

"Why don't you just tell me what you are talking about?" Draco told me crossing his arms.

I was about to retort but the professor walked into the room and caused me to forget about the bickering with Draco. He was tall, tanned, young, and thin, with shoulder length dark blonde hair and a long scar along the left side of his face that marred his otherwise perfect and very handsome features. There was something incredibly familiar about him, but I thought it was impossible for him to be who I though he was. That is until he looked directly at me and smiled. Then I knew for sure. He was another one of my old mentors, Xavier.

He grinned at me when he saw the dawn of recognition in my eyes and approached me. I stood up and gave him a little bow, like he would always make me do before we would start our lesson. He would tell me that it showed great respect and honored the fact that I acknowledged the fact that he was a master. I personally think he just made me do it to feel more important, but I've always had a great fondness for him, so I followed his rules. He laughed at me and the fact that I remembered his crazy rules. "Marlene, I'm glad that you remembered my rules of respect, but there is no longer any need for such formalities. I think that it will be a bit hard to have the entire class following them. It would get a bit too complicated," he told me.

We looked at each other for a moment before I gave him a hug. "Xavier, why didn't you tell me that you were coming here?" I asked after we let go of each other.

He laughed. "I did! Didn't you get my letter?"

I thought about it for a second, before realizing that I did indeed get a letter from him in the morning, but got so distracted with everything happening throughout the day, that I didn't read it. I felt myself blush, "I got the letter, but I didn't get a chance to read it yet. It's been a crazy day."

He laughed again. "I'll bet, but now the whole purpose of the letter is ruined! And to think I spend a long time trying to figure out how to tell you."

I started to feel really bad, and looked down at the floor. He gently lifted my chin so that I would have to look into his beautiful hazel eyes. "It's alright, I was just messing with you, but we'll have to catch up some other time. Right now I have to start class," he told me grinning happily and taking his place at the front of the class.

He surveyed the class for a few seconds trying to get a feel for everything before starting to speak. "Welcome to N.E.W.T. Potions. I am Professor Jamison. I take it that if you are all in this class that you have done a pretty good job thus far. Well actually, knowing Professor Snape, I would probably be safe in saying that you all do very well in order to pass his class with your sanity still in tact." There were a few snickers around the room. I looked at Draco, and he seemed distant and angry about something, probably my closeness with Xavier.

"Well I think that today we will start off with a relatively simple potion, just so that I can see how you guys do. On the board, I have written the ingredients required, and you can find the instructions on page 87 in your books. You may work with a partner and begin when you are ready."

"So where do we start partner?" I asked, turning to Draco.

He glared at me for a moment before muttering, "I'll go get the ingredients." I watched as he walked away, and it looked as if a dark cloud was hanging over him. The other students instinctively moved out of his path, as if no one dared to get in his way.

While he was getting the ingredients, Harry came up to me. "Hey, how's the first day going?" he asked.

I shrugged. "It's pretty good I guess. Much more surprising than I thought it would be. I wonder if there will be anyone else here that I find that I know."

He laughed. "I was looking for you during lunch, but I didn't see you."

For some reason, I felt a bit uncomfortable and was tempted to lie, but decided against it. I would probably have to lie enough over the year, so I wanted to be a truthful as I could. "Oh, I'm sorry. Draco and I were catching up and kind of lost track of time. We were almost late coming to class."

"It's alright. I was just hoping that you didn't get lost. It'll take awhile to find your way through the school without getting lost too many times."

I laughed. "You don't still get lost do you?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I always seem to find my way out of trouble." He looked towards Draco and seen that he almost had all of his ingredients and would soon be returning. "Well, I better get out of here. I just wanted to make sure that you alright."

"Thanks Harry." I said as he went back to his table to wait for Ron.

Draco returned to the table and dropped the ingredients on the table rather violently. "What did Potter want?" he nearly growled.

"He just wanted to see how my day was going. He thought I might have gotten lost since I wasn't at lunch," I explained, ignoring his temper.

"I wish he would get lost," Draco mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "Do not start this. He's my friend, Draco. He's just a friend. We are in the same house, we have the same classes. We are going to have to work together. If you don't like him fine, stay away from him. But if I'm around, would you please just act civil towards him?" He pretended to ignore me and started with the potion. "You can't ignore me Draco, we are partners."

He started mixing things together haphazardly and I could tell that if I didn't stop him soon, the whole mixture was going to blow up in our faces, quite literally. "Draco, stop before you get us hurt," I told him, pulling his hands away from the cauldron and ingredients.

He turned to me, and his eyes were like ice. "Let go of me," he said in a cold, dangerous voice.

I let go of him. "You're messing up the potion," I told him simply.

"You do it then," he said harshly before sitting down.

I shrugged, "Alright." I spent the rest of the double potions working mainly by myself. Draco did help once and a while. I guess he felt bad that I was doing all the work. Mostly though, he just kept yelling at me because I wasn't following the directions exactly.

"The potion's going to be ruined and we are going to fail on the first day," he told me angrily.

"Well since you're not helping, why do you care?" I snapped. His attitude was getting on my nerves. He grumbled a bit before turning away. "Just trust me okay? I know what I'm doing."

At the end of class, everyone's results varied. Mine came out nearly perfect. Hermione's and Neville's came out pretty good as well. Harry's and Ron's potion looked a bit sick and as if it were going to blow up at any moment. No one else did much better than them.

As Professor Jamison walked around to see how every one did, he seemed a bit dejected. I could tell he had high hopes for the class, and they fell decidedly below his expectations. When he checked my potion though, he smiled and said, "I'm glad that you've remembered what you've learned. You must have had a good partner as well."

I did nothing to take all the credit, and Draco just scowled. I started cleaning up, and heard him checking on Hermione's potion. "Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom, that's not bad at all. You both show some real potential." Hermione beamed and Neville looked like he was going to faint.

After a few seconds of my cleaning, and Draco sitting there moodily looking at me, I snapped. "Would you at least help me clean up? Or is that too much to ask of a Malfoy?"

His jaw clenched, and I could tell that I probably had crossed a line, but it got him in motion. Unfortunately, he was so angry that he started breaking things as he "cleaned up," so I still did most of it myself.

As soon as we were released, Draco stormed out of the room. I didn't bother following him because I knew all I would do is make things worse. Several of our classmates looked at me, wondering what happened, but I just ignored them and left the classroom.


	8. Nightmares and Moonlight

_FINAL CHANCE _

_By: Shadowedheart89 _

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

Chapter 8: Nightmares and Moonlight

Dinner was very uncomfortable. There was a lot of tension between Hermione and I, Harry was acting quite withdrawn from everyone, and even Ron seemed to be in a sour mood. I didn't even try to start a conversation, in hopes of preventing another argument with Hermione, and she barely acknowledged my presence which was fine with me.

Since there wasn't much to keep me occupied, I studied the other occupants of the hall. At the teacher's table, Xavier and Severus seemed to be having some kind of debate, most likely about potions. With two people who were as passionate about the art as they were, it promised to become a bit dangerous. I just hoped that Xavier would win, even though it would mean that Severus would be more unbearable than usual. At the Slytherin table, Draco seemed to be having an amicable conversation with his friends. Every once and a while he would glance over at my table, as if to check up on me. Occasionally he would catch my eye and smirk before returning back to what ever conversation it was that he was having. I decided that it was better not to bother him, so I just sat at my table picking at my food for awhile

Despite not eating lunch, I wasn't very hungry, so I ended up finishing my dinner before everyone else, and heading back to the common room by myself. I grabbed my homework from my bed and sat by the fire in the common room to finish up. I was just putting the final touches on my essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the common room, creating quite a commotion. They seemed to be getting into some kind of argument and were causing quite a commotion.

"You two are over reacting!" Hermione nearly shouted at the two boys.

"How can you say that? You heard what Malfoy said," Ron yelled at her, his face nearly red enough to match his hair.

"You can't possibly expect us to just take it from him, can you?" Harry asked his anger was also evident in the tenseness of his body.

"Well it's better than letting yourselves get into trouble," Hermione shot back at them.

"What's going on?" I asked when they took their seats around me.

"Your _boyfriend_," Hermione almost spat, "tried to start a fight with Harry and Ron." She was looking at me as if it was entirely my fault.

"Really," I replied, feeling my own anger swell. "It looks like I'll have to have a little talk with Draco."

"Do you honestly think that you can make a difference?" Hermione asked.

I looked at her and smirked, "You'd be amazed at the things I can do." I glanced at Harry and saw how upset he appeared and sighed. "Okay, so I can't make any promises. Draco is incredibly stubborn, but he should lay off a little bit if I ask him to. Despite what you see, he can be a reasonable guy."

Ron shook his head. "I honestly don't know what you see in that guy."

I smirked at him. "Well I hope not. I wouldn't want to have to be worrying about you stealing my boyfriend."

Harry laughed and Ron turned bright red. "That's not what I meant," he mumbled.

"I know," I said laughing. "Maybe one day you guys will see some of what I see in him."

"I wouldn't hold my breath," Harry said.

"I'm not, but I would find it very interesting. You would be surprised at what you found." I stared into the fire for a few minutes, thinking about how different Draco acted from when we were alone to when we were around others. If I didn't truly know him, I wouldn't believe that it was the same person. I couldn't blame the others for hating him. I probably would too if I were in their situation.

I broke my train of thoughts, and announced that I was going to go to bed. I bade them all goodnight, and started up, but then turned back to Harry. "Try clearing your mind again before you go to sleep. It may help with the nightmares. And don't get mad if you can't do it. Remember, it takes practice and patience." He looked a bit embarrassed, but still nodded.

I got ready for bed, and just as I was about to climb into my four-poster, the dormitory door opened and I heard a timid voice, "Marlene?"

I turned around to see a nervous Hermione fidgeting in the doorway. "Yes," I said, a bit confused.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I nodded and motioned for her to talk. "I just wanted to apologize for earlier. Harry told me about your situation."

"Really," I said, feeling my stomach tighten in fear of what he might have said. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"He told me how your parents took your education a little bit too seriously, how they never let you have a real childhood, and how at every other school you went to, people acted like I did. I'm sorry Marlene, I was out of line." I bit back a bitter remark and remained silent. "But why didn't you just tell me?"

"I'm tired of trying to explain myself to everyone. No one ever believes me, and I really don't think that I should have to. Do you have to tell your life's story to everyone when you first meet them? Do Harry and Ron know everything about you? All of your secrets, about everything that goes on in your family?"

"You're right," she said looking as if she was a bit ashamed of herself. "I didn't mean to be so rude to you. I didn't know what to make of you, so I just assumed the worst. It was wrong and unfair. It's just that Harry is one of my best friends and I want to protect him."

"I'm not here to hurt anybody, if anything, I can help," I said angrily.

She sighed. "It wouldn't be the first time someone was here to hurt him. He's come so close to being killed so many times. People we trust end up turning on us and trying to hurt us. If something were to happen to him…"

"Nothing is going to happen to him," I tried to reassure her.

She gave a little bitter laugh. "Every year something happens to him, and every year it gets worse. Do you honestly think that you can change that?"

"Everything that has happened to him has made him stronger so that he can face what will happen next. I can't promise that nothing bad will happen to him, but I'm sure that whatever does happen, will be something that he will be able to handle. Of course, he will need his friends though, and I don't want to get in the way of that."

"What if he can't handle it?" she asked earnestly. "What if it's too much?"

"Don't you think that maybe I could help though?"

"Maybe you can," she said a bit hesitantly.

We were both quiet for a minute before I said, "You really care about Harry, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Like I said, he's my best friend, and I would do anything to protect him," she told me, all anger and dislike disappearing from her voice. We were silent for a few seconds before she looked around a bit uncomfortably and said, "Well, I'll let you get to bed now. Good night."

"Good night," I told her as she turned towards the door. "And Hermione," I stopped her before she left, "thank you for this."

She nodded, and went downstairs. I climbed into my bed feeling exhausted. It had been a very interesting day, and all I wanted was a nice peaceful night of sleep.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Once again, in the middle of the night, I woke up to a nightmare. This time, I could remember everything that happened:

_Draco and I were holding hands, running through a forest with the harvest moon as our only light as we stumbled and tripped over the brush that blocked our path. We were being chased by a crowd, but were so injured from battle that our pursuers were quickly gaining on us, and my powers weren't working. We came to the middle of a clearing and stopped. In front of us stood Voldemort, Lucius, and the rest of the Death Eaters. We turned around looking for an escape, and behind us Uncle Albus, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and members of the Order of the Phoenix were closing in on us. Everywhere we looked people from either side were surrounding us and coming closer and closer. Draco and I held on to each other as if to protect each other and prevent the others from tearing us apart._

_"Join me and you will live to rule us all," Voldemort said, his eyes glowing with all of the power that he possessed and promised to bestow upon us. I could see Draco and me standing on top of the world, everyone giving us everything we desired. Everyone was our loyal subjects, and the whole world was our kingdom._

_"Join me and restore peace," Uncle Albus said, his eyes pleading with us to set the world free of the horror of Voldemort's reign. I could see Draco and I being happy. All of our friends surrounded us, and they were all getting along. No one was fighting, no one was running in fear, no one was dying. _

_Draco and I looked at each other, not knowing which way to go. He wanted power, and I wanted peace, but neither of us wanted to let go of each other._

_"Choose or perish," Voldemort and Uncle Albus said together raising their wands at us, their voices intertwining to create the most omnipotent and horrific sound I had ever heard._

_"We can't," Draco and I said together, and I could feel the tears streaking down my face._

_"Then you both shall perish," they called, and sent identical green streams out of their wands at us. _

_Draco and I clung to each other as we watched the beams of light come towards us…_

Just as they hit us, I woke up almost screaming. I was panting and in a cold sweat, trying to regain a sense of my surroundings. I couldn't remember where I was at fore a few seconds. Everything seemed so unfamiliar and sinister and I huddled in my bed fearing the worse. Finally I was able to regain my bearings and headed down to the common room somewhat hoping that Harry would be there.

My hopes were granted as once again, I discovered a lone figure sitting by the fireplace. "More nightmares?" I asked Harry.

He glanced up from a book he was reading, looking a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, I can't even remember what it feels like to have a good night's sleep."

"Me neither," I said sitting next to him and glancing at his book, "So what are you reading."

He blushed a bit but turned the book so I could read the cover. "_Madame Zuni's Guide to Interpreting Dreams, _that's an interesting book. I myself prefer other's, but to each their own. Trying to find some answers to your nightmares?"

He shrugged. "I suppose." He gazed into the fire for a few seconds before he asked, "Do any of your dreams ever come true?"

"All of the time. I think that's the scariest part of a nightmare. You never know if it will come true, especially if other dreams do."

"Can you tell when they will come true, and when they won't?"

"Not really. I just have to wait and keep and eye out. Sometimes I can prevent it if I pay attention to what's going on and recognize them before its too late," I told him. He seemed to think for a while before I asked, "Are your nightmares coming true?"

He shook his head. "No, at least I don't think so. I hope not." He stared into the fire intently for awhile, and then asked in a voice so low, that I was barely able to hear him, "Do they ever make you think that you are going crazy?"

"Sometimes, but then I talk to someone like Uncle Albus, or Xavier, or even Severus about them and I know I'm not nearly as crazy as they are."

He laughed and asked doubtfully, "Severus?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, he has his insightful moments, but he is quite demented if you ask me."

"I can imagine," he said softly before falling back into a meditative silence.

I took a good look at him, and realized how dark the circles around his eyes were. He looked extremely exhausted. "When was the last time you got a decent night's sleep?" I asked, trying to steel myself for the answer.

He avoided my eyes, and answered hesitantly, "About three months since I've slept well."

I sighed, "Haven't you tried dreamless sleep potions or sleeping draughts?"

He shook his head. "I was staying with Muggles during most of that time. They don't exactly have potions."

"What about Muggle pharmaceuticals? They have over the counter sleep aids that are supposed to be quite helpful."

"They don't like me to take medication. They think its evil," he told me. It's was obviously a lie, but I saw something in his eyes that was begging me to stop asking questions, so I did. He feigned a yawn and said, "Actually, I'm started to get sleepy again. I think I'll head up to bed. Good night."

As he walked past me, I grabbed his hand and used my energy to try and calm his thoughts so that hopefully he would be able to get some sleep. "Sleep well," I told him.

He gave me a speculative look before nodding as if he had just discovered he had been right about something he had been questioning. "You too Marlene, don't stay up to late," he said and then began walking up the stairs looking as if he was in a trance.

I smiled to myself. Harry was going to get some sleep. That was for sure. Whether or not I would be able to sleep wasn't for certain. I started for my bed again, thinking about how well I slept last night in Draco's bed, and wasn't surprised that when I reached my bed, that it wasn't mine at all. On the other hand, was surprised me was finding that it was empty and Draco was no where around.

Feeling a bit aggravated at this delay, I closed my eyes and envisioned Draco. When I opened my eyes, I was standing on a tower. Before me, Draco stood shirtless, wearing only his green silk sleeping pants with his back towards me, leaning on the brick wall. The full moon made his pale skin and hair glow, making him look angelic and perfect in every way. A slight breeze began to blow, lifting his hair from his neck, revealing the smooth skin there. In that moment, he wasn't just handsome, he looked beautiful. He looked like a god looking down from the heavens.

The coolness of the air finally caught up to me and caused me to shiver. Draco must have sensed me because he turned his head slightly as if listening, before turning fully to face me. "Marlene," he said seeming surprised. "What are you doing here? How long have you been here?"

"I just got here. I was looking for you. What are you doing here? It's freezing," I said wrapping my arms around myself.

"I'm just thinking," he told me, looking back towards where he was staring out at moments before.

"You can't think anywhere where it's warm?" I asked, huddling against him for warmth.

"No where warm has a view like this, or the silence," he told me in a quiet, dreamlike voice, waving his hand in front of him to show me what he had been watching. The view was breath-taking. Below us was the lake, reflecting the full moon, and the grounds had a beautiful blue glow, making it almost look like it was covered with ice. Above us, the stars shone with a brilliance I had never seen before, and it looked as if there were more of them.

I looked back at Draco and saw him smiling at my reaction. "It's beautiful," I told him.

"I know. I found this place a couple of years ago. Its best when there is a full moon like tonight, or at sunrise, when it looks like everything is being set on fire. It looks like a whole new world," he almost whispered in my ear.

I summoned a blanket, and wrapped it around us. We sat down and he pulled me into his arms. After we got ourselves comfortable I said, "So I heard that you're already starting trouble."

He laughed. "You really know how to kill a mood, you know that?"

I pushed his leg and giggled. "Are you or aren't you?"

He sighed. "Are you talking about Potter and friends?"

"Well how many other people have you been trying to pick fights with?" I asked, turning so I could see his face.

He rolled his eyes. "They are just too sensitive. They always take my comments too personally."

"Well what did you say to them?" I asked, knowing that I was most likely going to regret this.

"I merely said that I hoped that Granger would be more bearable now that she had some one to snog her once in a while," he said in an innocent voice.

I stared at him for a moment, completely speechless. I couldn't imagine anyone saying that to Hermione. She seemed too prim and proper, and seemed to demand respect. As I studied Draco though, I could tell that he wasn't lying. I couldn't help myself, I started laughing. "Draco! You said that?"

"Yes I did. I just don't think they really found the humor or truth in it."

"You can't say things like that."

"Why not?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"It's not appropriate. No wonder everyone thinks you're such a jerk," I told him laughing and turning back to face the grounds.

He shrugged. "I have other things to worry about besides what Potter and his friends think of me," he said, his voice taking on a solemn note.

"What's on your mind?" I asked entwining my fingers with his.

He kissed the back of my hand. "It's nothing for you to worry about."

"Is everything alright?" I asked. He was really worrying me. Something about how he was speaking gave me the feeling that something was really wrong. My nightmare was only making it worse.

"Everything's fine. I just have a lot on my mind, and I don't want to worry you about it. Just relax and enjoy the view," he told me, kissing the top of my head.

I gave in a let it go. We laid there for a while just watching the view, before I remembered his meeting today. "So how did your meeting go with Severus?"

"It was fine. He just had a few questions to ask. He asked me about you too."

I smirked. "What did he want to know about me?"

"He just wanted to know when we had met, how close we are, things like that." He stopped for a moment and started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"He asked me how I could put up with you," he told me between chuckles.

I rolled my eyes. "Yep, that's Severus alright. Did you tell him the truth?"

"Yes, I told him every grimy detail, from us snogging in the hallways, to how you just can't get enough of me," he told me grinning.

I just shook my head. "You are utterly hopeless," I told him, turning around to face the view again.

"So it seems," he said with the humor still in his voice. I yawned and adjusted myself to a more comfortable position, and he tighted his embrace on me, as if he thought I was going to leave him. I wrapped the blanket closer around us and watched as some of the night creatures scurried across the grounds in search of food.

We ended up falling asleep together on the tower, lying in each others arms, beneath the stars, with the occasional breeze blowing our hair. It was the best sleep I had gotten in years.


	9. Lunch

_A Final Chance_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

Chapter 9: Lunch

I woke up a few hours later with Draco whispering in my ear, "Wake up sleepy head. Take a look at the grounds."

I slowly opened my eyes and turned to look at him. "What are you talking about?" I asked, not really remembering where I was or really how I got there.

"Just look," he told me pointing off in front of us. I looked in the direction where he was pointing and gasped. The sun was beginning to rise, and true to Draco's word, everything looked as if it were on fire. The light shone through the trees, making the leaves glow various shades of reds and oranges. The lake shimmered with the light, making it look as if flames were dancing across it. It was simply breath taking.

"How in Merlin's name did you find this place?" I asked awestruck.

He resettled himself so that he was more comfortable, and pulled me closer before answering. "Well one night, I couldn't sleep so I started wandering around. Thanks to you I had developed an appreciation for the outdoors, and stumbled upon a secret door and wound up here. I liked this place immediately. It makes me feel so at peace. Like sitting out by the cabin…" he trailed off.

"This is amazing," I said, still filled with admiration at the view.

"I know," he told me, kissing my neck. I shivered and he ran his hands down my bare arms. "Are you cold?" he asked sounding concerned.

"Yeah, just a bit," I told him snuggling closer.

"We should go back to the dormitory then so you don't get sick," he replied, gently trying to lift me.

I took his hands in mine and wrapped his arms around me. "Just close your eyes." Before he could protest, I felt the familiar spinning sensation and seconds later we were in his bed. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" I asked turning to look at him.

He looked at bit green in the face as he said, "It is way too early in the morning for that."

"Aww, I'm sorry," I told him kissing him softly before burrowing into the covers and lying down beside him. My lack of sleep was catching up to me, and I was extremely tired.

He smirked, "I'm sure you'll find some way to make it up to me." He slid under the covers next to me and pulled me against him. "Warm now?" he asked, his breath ghosting over my ear. I nodded, and my eyes started to drift closed. I felt him study me for a few seconds before asking, "You haven't been sleeping too well have you?"

I shook my head and mumbled, "No."

I felt his lips press gently against my forehead and his fingers run soothingly through my hair. "Get some more sleep, and then we'll head down to breakfast."

"Thanks Draco," I mumbled before finally drifting off.

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw were two beautiful blue-gray orbs staring back at me. I couldn't help but to smile at them.

"Good morning. I was wondering when you were planning on joining the realm of the conscious," he joked.

I stretched and studied him for a few seconds. He was already dressed, lying on his side next to me, with his head propped on his hand, where he had most likely been watching me sleep. "Did we miss breakfast?" I asked, my voice still thick with sleep.

"No," he said touching my hair, the humor leaving his eyes. "I was just a bit worried. You are usually the one that wakes up before the sun rises."

I giggled. "And you're usually the one that sleeps until noon. What happened to you?"

He shrugged. "Too much on my mind to sleep." His eyes darkened briefly with some hidden emotion and it killed me to see him seeming so distraught and not being able to help him or even know what was going on.

I brushed away the few strands of hair that had fallen into his face. "I wish I knew what was going on inside of the mind of yours."

He smirked. "I have no doubt that if you really wanted to know you could find out."

"I suppose I could," I told him hesitantly, "but that would be immoral. I want you to trust me enough to tell me yourself."

He stared at me with that steady gaze of his for a while. His eyes held no trace of the amusement and warmth they had carried only moments before, and instead held an icy, unreadable expression. "We should be going to breakfast," he said finally turning away from me.

He started to get out of bed, but I got a flashback of my nightmare and the fear of us being separated washed over me. I grabbed him and kissed him, needing to feel his touch. When I pulled away he looked a bit worried. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Are we going to be alright?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"Me and you? Are we going to be alright? If the war starts again, are we going to be split apart?"

"You're the one with all the powers Marlene. Why don't you tell me?" he said a bit bitterly.

"I don't know anything," I told him softly feeling my tears start to well.

He looked into my eyes and must have seen something showing how distraught I was because his expression changed faintly. "We are going to be just fine," he assured me, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. "Now can we please go get something to eat? I'm starving."

I nodded and used magic to change my clothes quickly. He stared at me for a few seconds before smirking. "You know, somehow I thought watching you change clothes would be a lot more thrilling."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Oh, so you want a thrill, do you?" I asked, jumping at him and kissing him. As we kissed, I teleported us into an empty corridor by the Great Hall. He didn't really seem to notice the slight spinning feeling usually occurring with the teleportation, and just kept kissing me. He began pushing me back against the wall, and his kisses moved to my neck. I didn't want him to stop but a rational part of my mind told me that we ought to before we got caught. "Draco," I tried to say firmly, but his name came out little more than a whisper, though he heard me.

"Hmm," he mumbled back, his face still hidden in the crook of my neck sucking and gently biting at the skin there.

"I think we should stop," I said, although I was still holding onto him.

"Why?" came his muffled response, as he barely lifted his lips from my skin to answer.

"If we get caught, we could get into trouble," I told him, holding back a moan.

Reluctantly, he stopped but still held me close. His eyes were so bright with lust that they were almost transparent. He was slightly flushed, his hair was slightly mussed, and his lips were pink and swollen. After a few seconds, his eyebrows furrowed, and he asked, a bit angrily, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You just look so adorable," I told him, trying to fix his hair a bit.

He arched an elegant eyebrow at me. "Adorable? I have never been called 'adorable' in my life," he told me, making a face at the word.

I rolled my eyes, seeing that his arrogance was starting to return, and he was going to start acting like the Draco that everyone hated soon. "Well now you have," I told him, kissing him one last time. He tried deepening the kiss, but I pulled away. "You know, if we keep this up, we'll never get to eat."

He grinned, "Suddenly, I'm not hungry for breakfast anymore."

"Too bad, I am. Let's go," I said, gently pushing him away.

He rolled his bright eyes. "You're no fun," he said pretending to pout.

I tugged on his arm and he fell into step next to me. "What are we going to do about us?" I asked.

He looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well, we were supposed to keep a low profile about us knowing each other. I think we might have blown that, or will when people see us snogging in the hallways one of these times."

"We could have just met still. No one can really prove that we've known each other from before. We are just kids, we are supposed to be reckless," he reasoned.

"Are you in the habit of snogging girls you have just met?" I asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

"Excuse me? You must be forgetting that I am Draco Malfoy. I wouldn't give most of the girls here a second glance, but they throw themselves at me. Most of these girls are far beneath me though, or just plain disgusting. Everyone would just realize that I've finally found someone on my level, and you of course could not resist my charm."

I stopped and raised my eyebrow at him. "You've got to be kidding me. 'My level?' 'Charm?' Do you try to be this arrogant, or does it just come naturally?"

"What are you talking about Marlene? You know that I come from one of the highest regarded families in the wizarding world, and I have an image to maintain."

"Well I think your family's regard went down when your father was arrested for being a death eater. Besides, I thought you were leaving all that behind. You know, being your own person?"

He turned on me glaring. "My father made a mistake. His actions have only disgraced himself. I will carry on the Malfoy honor. If you play your cards right, you may one day have the chance to bask in the glory that will be the Malfoy name."

My temper started to rise and I could feel my face heating up with my anger. Luckily, I was still calm enough to maintain control of my magic. It didn't stop me though from giving Draco a piece of my mind. "I do not need you to find glory or honor. I will find it on my own and I won't have to rely on my family name or my connections. Everything I accomplish will be done on my own, and know one will care who my family is or where I came from."

"Not everyone is you," he shot back. "Some people just have to use whatever they can to make it."

I just stared at him, unable to believe that this was the same person that I so close with just a few years ago, or even the same person from the morning. "You know what Draco, I'm going to breakfast. Find me when you are back to normal," I told him before walking to the Great Hall.

I sat down at the table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and they all looked at me funny. "You've had an early morning," Hermione said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You weren't in the dorm this morning when I woke up," Hermione said.

"Well I had trouble sleeping, so I decided to explore a bit," I lied.

"You shouldn't be walking around the school so early in the morning. You could get into trouble," Hermione warned me.

"It was fine. I ran into Draco, and we talked for a while and caught up a bit on the last few years."

"Talking? Is that what you call it now?" Ron asked.

I felt myself blush. "Well we did actually talk. I can't believe how much he's changed."

"Well you said you met him two years ago, and I hate to break it to you, but I knew him then, and he is pretty much the same," Harry told me.

I laughed. "Maybe it's just the environment. He's different when we are alone. Something is bothering him though," I said more to myself.

"Poor Draco," Ron said sarcastically, "Are we supposed to feel sorry for him?"

"No," I said, noticing Draco walk by the table. He glared at me, but otherwise didn't acknowledge anyone's presence. He sat at the Slytherin table and snapped at his friends when they tried to talk to him, and stubbornly refused to even look at my table.

I slammed my hand on the table out of frustration and everyone around me jumped. I felt my self blush as I apologized.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked quietly.

I sighed. "Nothing, I'm just over reacting."

"Are you sure?" he asked. He seemed to be genuinely worried for some reason that was beyond me. We barely knew each other, yet here he was, trying to help me once again. It was truly touching.

I smiled at him. "I'm sure. I guess I'm just frustrated. It seems like I've been here forever, not just two days. I forget that its going to take awhile before things start to run more smoothly."

"It's hard getting used to this place. Things will get better though," he told me and gave me a reassuring smile. I smiled back at him, and jumped as hundreds of owls suddenly flew into the hall.

Hermione giggled, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. The post comes every morning at the same time."

I laughed. "I guess I'm just a bit jumpy," I said absently as I watched the owls swoop and dive to their owners or recipients. "What a beautiful owl," I commented as a snow owl started to descend towards our table.

"That's my owl Hedwig," Harry told me as she landed on the table in front of him and he fondly stroked her feathers before untying the parchment from her leg. As he read through the letter, Hermione submerged herself in a copy of the Daily Prophet, Ron continued to munch on his breakfast, and I merely gazed around at them lost in my own thoughts, mostly centering around Draco and my nightmare.

The rest of breakfast passed with idle chit chat, and with Harry, Ron and Hermione happy with some plan they had made during the summer working out, of which they had just received word. After breakfast we all walked together to our first class of the morning, Transfiguration. Unlike the previous days classes, most of the period was spend reviewing work that was supposed to be done over the summer and giving an outline of what would be expected over the year. The lack of the practical part of the lesson, however did not prevent us from getting a foot long essay on the theory. As we were being dismissed, Professor McGonagall handed me two slips of parchment.

As we made our way to Charms, I read through the notes. The first one was a list of does and don't for the class, telling me what powers I could use, when I had to use my wand, ect., which I hastily stuffed into my robes before anyone could get nosy and see. Surely it would have risen questions that I would rather have avoided. The second one was a note from Uncle Albus, requesting that I join him in his office for lunch. "Oh great," I muttered to myself.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, who had been walking beside me, curiously watching as I read through the notes.

"Uncle Albus, er, I mean Professor Dumbledore," I corrected myself, "wants me to have lunch with him."

"That's a bad thing?" Hermione asked, who had been walking on the other side of Harry and had heard what was going on.

"Well, I just met with him yesterday. I can't imagine why he wouldn't have just told me everything then. Unless something has come up in the last 24 hours," I told them, more speaking to myself than really trying to inform them. For some reason I had a really bad feeling about the note that I couldn't explain. Part of me knew that Uncle Albus could just want to have a friendly lunch and just talk, but the other part of me insisted that there was much more to it.

I spent the rest of the morning with my focus drifting between what was being said in class, thoughts of Draco who was still ignoring me throughout class, my nightmare, and wondering about the real purpose of the lunch. When the morning classes were over, I was surprised to realize that they had passed so quickly.

I said good-bye to the trio in front of the Great Hall and made my way upstairs to gargoyle, who guarded Uncle Albus' office. I was lucky enough to not even get lost on my way. "Back again?" the gargoyle growled when I stopped in front of it.

"Well it's not by my own doing," I muttered.

"Password?" it asked grumpily.

I gave the obligatory password and stepped onto the spiral staircase. I reached the door, to find that it was cracked, and there was someone already there. I tried to peer inside to see who it was, but the person was just out of view, and the two of them were speaking in such low voices that I couldn't recognize the voice either. Reluctantly I knocked on the door and was immediately told to enter.

"Marlene! Welcome again. I hope you don't mind, but I asked Professor Jamison to join us today," Uncle Albus greeted me warmly.

"Of course I don't mind. How are you today Xavier?" I asked, as he stood and gave me a hug.

"I'm doing quite well this morning. How about you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I responded, not quite honestly. My exhaustion was starting to get to me again, and the thing with Draco was really bothering me, not to mention the anxiety this meeting was causing me. I looked at Uncle Albus, and his eyes were twinkling as if he knew exactly what had been going through my mind, and it wouldn't have really surprised me if he did.

"Well shall we begin our lunch?" Uncle Albus said, before waving his wand over his desk and a large selection of food appeared before us. "Help yourself," he told us as he began to fix his plate."

I sat down warily, expecting the worst still, although I did help myself to some of the delicious looking sandwiches that were displayed. All was quiet for a few minutes as we all munched on our meals, until Uncle Albus finally spoke up. "How are you enjoying your classes so far?"

"They are okay," I responded. "Yesterday's classes were quite interesting, especially finding that I already knew the teachers," I said glaring a bit at Uncle Albus.

"I thought it would be nice for you to be surprised with a few familiar faces," he told me, sounding a bit apologetic.

"Well it is nice to be learning from Xavier again," I said looking at him fondly. "I have always enjoyed his style and way of talking to me. Severus, on the other hand, is a completely different story."

"Ah, yes. I have heard that you two have already run into a few problems," Uncle Albus said, looking at me with those sparkling eyes.

"What happened?" Xavier asked, sounding intrigued.

"Severus and I got into a bit of an altercation in class yesterday," I told him nonchalantly.

"If I'm not mistaken," Uncle Albus added, "I believe you to started to duel again."

Xavier looked awestruck. "You didn't."

I felt myself blush a bit with shame. "Well it was both of our faults. I was surprised to see him here, and I suppose I was a bit rude, but I still think that he overreacts."

"Well what happened?" Xavier asked, a grin beginning to show itself on his handsome face.

I sighed. "Well he was giving a lecture about the importance of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I pointed out the fact that counter curses aren't really going to help you if you start to panic. He gave me detention for that and made me help him demonstrate the lesson on non verbal magic."

"I think I can see where this is going," Xavier laughing.

I laughed and continued, "Well he cast the first spell without even explaining to me what he was doing or what I was supposed to do, but I managed to deflect it at the last second. He had me cast a jinx at him, and when I did, he just criticized me. I doubted he would have done that to any other student, because he didn't even tell us how you are supposed to perform non verbal magic. Well I got mad, and cast another spell at him, this time strong enough to almost knock him down. Well it goes without saying that it didn't go over too well with him, and he cursed me."

"There was a lot of commotion among the students over the duel. They seem to think that he had hurt you. What spell did he use on you?" Uncle Albus asked.

"I'm not sure," I answered truthfully, although I avoided catching his eye. Even though I didn't know what exact spell he had used, I was sure it was Dark Magic.

"You don't have any idea of what it was?" he asked suspiciously.

"All I know is that it caused pain," I said hesitantly. "He's not in trouble, is he?" I asked. For some reason, even with all the animosity between Severus and I, I didn't want to cost him his job. Well, not again.

"No, he's not in trouble. He already came to me and told me what happened. You will serve your detention with him, and will spend one day a week working with him in his office. You two are going to have to put aside your differences and learn to work together," he told me.

"Either that or kill each other," Xavier stated laughing.

I rolled my eyes. "Are you going to have me doing something every day of the week?" I asked.

"I know I am giving you a difficult schedule, but it isn't anything that you can't handle. If time does become an issue, we have ways of making it work," he told me, a twinkle in his eye.

I sighed resolutely. "I guess I'm used to it. Between you and my parents, you guys have never really given me too much time to myself that didn't have anything to do with bettering myself."

There were a few minutes of silence, before Xavier spoke up. "I talked to Albus about making you my apprentice. Well that is if you are still up to what we had discussed."

"Of course I am. I would start to go crazy if I had spare time," I said a bit bitterly. Xavier looked a bit unsure with my answer, so I smiled reassuringly at him. "Yes, I still want to go along with the plan."

"Well I see no problem with it," Uncle Albus told us. "It will still be your responsibility, Xavier, to make sure that she knows all of the material for the tests at the end of the year." I opened my mouth to retort, but he cut me off, " I know what you are thinking. As I've said before, even though you know more advanced magic, doesn't mean you can just ignore the basics."

"I know, I know," I said, sighing in defeat.

"Well, lunch is almost over, and I have to set up some things for my next class. Marlene, I will talk to you later to discuss when we can meet and to go over some lesson plans. Thank you for the lunch Professor," Xavier said, before rising elegantly.

"I was happy to have you. Good luck with the rest of your classes," Uncle Albus told him.

"Don't get too annoyed with your students," I warned him grinning.

He laughed, "I'll try not too." He put his hand on my shoulder momentarily, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Until next time," he said, before leaving.

Uncle Albus waited a few seconds after the door clicked shut to ask, "Has he been having trouble with the students?"

I smiled. "No, he's doing fine. The students seem to like him, especially the girls. He was just expecting everyone to be on a higher level than what they are."

He nodded in understanding. "One of the curses of being so exceptionally gifted, such as him and even yourself. You sometimes forget that others aren't at your level."

I nodded and fell into a thoughtful silence for a few minutes before saying, "Uncle Albus, can I ask your interpretation on something?"

"Of course, my dear."

"I had a nightmare last night. It's really been bothering me, and I'm not sure what it means." I gave him a quick account of my nightmare, of Draco and I being chases and attacked by both the Dark and the Light. "What do you think?" I asked, after I had finished my story.

He sat for a few moments in a thoughtful silence, motionless with his fingers templed beneath his chin. "Well the could be open to many different interpretations. I don't pretend to excel in divination, but in my opinion it would seem that you are torn."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well, ever since birth, you have been haunted by a prophesy. You know that you are supposed to lead the wizarding world, but you do not know what side you are going to be on."

"Of course I do. I fight for the Light," I told him indignantly.

"You have been raised to believe that the way of the Light is the right way. If someone other than your parents had raised you, who knows what you would believe right now. Maybe now, you are subconsciously exploring the idea that the Dark isn't as evil as it appears, and it contrasts so deeply with your upbringing that it is causing you to be torn."

"I don't have any interest in the Dark, what so ever," I told him. I was finding his interpretation quite a bit disturbing. I was starting to feel as if I was programmed to think the way I do, to be who I was. It was making me feel as if I didn't know who I was or what I was supposed to be doing anymore.

"But you do have an interest with young Mr. Malfoy," he said matter of factly.

"You are confusing me, Uncle Albus."

"It's another matter of contrasting images. You think of Draco as fundamentally good, but you know of the Malfoy's association with the Dark. My guess would be that you be thinking that if something good could come of something bad, it can't be that bad at all."

I tried to wrap my head around what he was saying. "So you think I am confused about the Dark and Light, and what side I am supposed to be on?"

"In a sense, yes," he said simply.

I paused a moment, trying to sort through my thoughts and decide whether or not it was true. After a few seconds I realized that that was an impossible task to do within a few seconds time. "So if that is true, what would you suggest I do?"

He stroked his long beard for a moment or two as if to go over the possibilities. "Well you would first have to understand that the division between Light and Dark is not as simple as its made out to be. In reality there is no division. Evil things have been done for the sake of good, and vice versa. One good deed will not make an evil person good, and one evil deed will not make a good person evil. It is the serious of choices and events that happen that determine which side of the spectrum it will fall upon. You must decide your own ideas about what is good and what is evil, of what is right and what is wrong, and what is Light and what is Dark, and no one else can make that decision for you."

"Well whatever side I may belong on, I believe that Voldemort must be destroyed, and that his ways are wrong. In my opinion that puts me on the side of the Light," I told him with confidence. He might have confused me about my own beliefs, but that was one that I still felt held true.

He smiled kindly at me. "Then there you have your answer."

I stared at him for a moment, still utterly confused, but I was starting to get a headache trying to understand his meanings. "Well I should get ready for my next class," I said standing up.

I was about to head to the door, when it suddenly burst open and Draco ran in, "I need your help!"


	10. A Softer Side

-1**A Final Chance**

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer**: I don't not own Harry Potter or any of the characters

Chapter 10: A Softer Side

"Draco, what's wrong?" I asked hurrying to him. His hair was messy, his clothes were disheveled, and he was paler than usual. If he was in this state, then there must be something very wrong.

He looked at me with wide eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asked, panting.

"I had lunch with Dumbledore. What's wrong?" I asked, raising a hand to brush the hair out of his face, but he grabbed my arm before I could touch him.

"I need to talk to Dumbledore," he said, "Alone." His voice was serious and there was a tremor just beneath. His eyes flashed with an emotion dangerously close to fear.

I looked to Uncle Albus as if asking him permission to stay. His eyes were fixed on Draco, appearing to be seeing within him, reading his mind. "I think you should go to class Marlene. Tell the Professor that you were in a meeting with me, and you shouldn't have any problems. And kindly notify them that Mr. Malfoy here will be late to class as well."

"But Uncle Albus," I started.

"Marlene go," he told me in that quiet yet final way of his.

I looked at Draco again, and saw how shaken he was. I wanted to stay and comfort him, all anger from the argument earlier gone, but there was nothing I could do. If I tried to argue, I would just make things worst, and if Draco needed some real help right away, all I would be doing is delaying it. So I did the only thing I could do. I put a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder, noticing him flinch away from my touch, and then I left the office, and headed down the stairs. When I got to the corridor, instead of heading to my next class, I sat down and waited, determined to be there when Draco came out.

My plan was thwarted shortly after though when Severus came hurrying down the corridor towards me. He came to an abrupt halt when he saw me. "What are you doing here, Ms. Wizadore? I do believe you ought to be in class right now."

"I had lunch with Uncle Albus. Draco came hurrying into the office, looking really upset and saying that he needed help. I'm waiting here to make sure that he is okay," I told him quietly, not trying to start an argument.

"And may I ask, exactly what purpose does it serve to be sitting out here waiting instead of in class, where you can be learning something in the meantime?" he asked coolly.

I sighed. "I just want to make sure he's okay. If I'm too worried about him to concentrate on the class, its not going to be all that much better. In fact I could cause a disturbance in class, which would in comparison be worst, so I think I should just wait here," I told him.

He studied me with those cold black eyes of his. After a few moments, his demeanor softened almost imperceptibly. "I'm sure he will be fine. Draco is much stronger than you would believe. Whatever might have happened, will be just fine. Now, I would suggest you get to class, unless you would like to serve another detention with me next weekend as well."

"Severus, I'm worried. There has been something really bothering him lately, but he won't talk about it," I told him in a last ditch effort, knowing that if Draco were to find out that I was telling him all of this, he would be extremely mad at me. Snape looked at me skeptically for a moment. "I know I haven't seen him in years, but I just know something is wrong. I have to do something to help, I'm going crazy not knowing and not being able to do anything."

He sighed, "I believe you, Marlene, but at the moment, there isn't anything you can do. If you want to help just wait for him to come to you if he needs you. He'll be okay, just let him be. You have enough to worry about without taking on his problems. Now go to class before you start to fall behind before the year has even really begun."

I sighed in defeat, and slowly began to stand. "Severus," I said softly as I stood before him, "I'm sorry for what happened in class yesterday. I know it was partly my fault. I shouldn't have disrespected you. I'm glad I didn't get you into trouble again with Uncle Albus. He told me that you came and told him what happened," I told him quietly.

He looked slightly taken back for a moment, but quickly recovered. "What's done is done," he said simply.

I waited a few seconds to see if he was going to say anything else. I wasn't really holding my breath for an apology on his part, but I thought he might like to lecture me some more. When it was clear he wasn't, I nodded and started my journey to my next class. I barely took a few steps when Severus called out to me. "If I thought that Draco was in serious trouble, I would let you know. You're not the only one who worries about him."

I smiled at him. "Thanks Severus. You know, you're not as bad as you like to pretend you are."

He scowled at me. "And you make me regret every kind thing I've ever done for you."

I laughed. "Well, we can just pretend that they were mistakes. No one would believe the truth anyways."

Something dangerously close to a smile crossed his face for the briefest of moments before he scowled at me again. "Get to class now, Ms. Wizidore, or I will give you detention."

"Yes, Professor," I said in an overly sweet voice giving him a little curtsy, before continuing down the corridor. My next class was Herbology, so I took my time to get to the greenhouse, hoping that Draco might catch up to me.

Unfortunately he didn't, so when I reached the greenhouses, I walked in alone. All of the other students stopped what they were doing, and turned to stare at me. "May I help you?" asked a squat little woman, in robes caked with earth, and dirty dragon skin gloves on.

"I'm Marlene Wizidore. I'm supposed to be in this class," I told her.

"Where have you been? Class has been in session for over a half an hour," she asked sternly.

"Well, I was in a meeting with Professor Dumbledore. He said that I should just let you know and there wouldn't be any problems. Is everything okay, or should I go back to him and get a note?" I said taking a few steps towards the exit, hoping to be able to leave class and maybe run into Draco.

"No, no, no, Professor Dumbledore mentioned something about this. It's fine. Why don't you just find and group, and you can help them for the rest of the class. We are just tending to some of the plants that went a bit untamed over the summer holidays," she told me kindly.

I began to walk away to find a group before I stopped. "Oh Professor, I almost forgot. You are supposed to have a Draco Malfoy in this class as well. He is meeting with Professor Dumbledore now, and will be to class later."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to remember that," she told me.

I nodded and joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione in their group. "What are we doing exactly?" I asked, sitting next to them.

"Where have you been? You really shouldn't be late to class," Hermione asked.

"I had lunch with Dumbledore, remember? It ran a bit late."

"Well you missed the show. Something happened with Malfoy. Towards the end of lunch, he just got up and ran out of the Great Hall," Ron told me, obviously happy at the prospect of something bad happening to Draco.

I felt my temper flare, but controlled it, remembering that Draco was horrible to them and they hated him. "Do you guys know what happened?"

"No, not even the Slytherins seemed to know," Hermione said.

"Yeah, we could hear them talking as we were walking to class. They were wondering if he had finally lost his marbles," Harry added.

"They think that he's going crazy?" I asked surprised. I know Draco acted a bit strangely sometimes, but I never doubted his sanity.

"I don't think so," Hermione told me. "Although they did comment about how strangely he's been acting lately."

I worked quietly, for awhile, just following along with whatever the others were doing and not really paying attention. I kept glancing at the greenhouse entrance, waiting for Draco to come in. Finally, when class was about to end, he came sauntering in. He spoke quickly with the professor, then joined a group of Slytherins.

_Are you okay now? _I asked him telepathically.

He casually looked around the greenhouse, until his eyes found mine for a second, and he turned back to his group. _What would make you think that I'm not okay? _he asked.

_You looked pretty upset in the Headmaster's office._

I felt the coldness radiating from him through the telepathic connection. _It was a momentary lapse in composure. Nothing more. I am fine._

_Well what was wrong? What happened?_

_Nothing I can't handle. Just don't worry about it Marlene, _he told me coldly.

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked, startling me out of my focus on the conversation with Draco.

"Oh yeah, I just have a lot on my mind. Why do you ask?"

"You have been tilling the same spot for the last 15 minutes," she told me, looking concerned.

I felt myself blush, and moved to a new spot. I looked over at Draco, who sat in a stony silence among his friends. I figured trying to talk to him at the moment would be pointless , so I decided to change the subject. "Have any of you had detention with Snape before?"

Harry laughed. "Oh yeah. It's not too fun, but I've had worst," he said flexing his right hand. I looked at him, confused, but before I could ask what he was talking about, the professor announced that it was time to clean up, and I forgot the question in the hustle that followed.

By the time we were making our way to our final class, Divination, I was talking happily with Harry and Ron, as they told me about how one of the two teachers, Professor Trelawny, had the habit of predicting Harry's death every few classes. My laughter at the stories died though when we reached the other teacher's class. It was made to look as if it were a part of the forest, complete with a dark, starry sky, and trees and tree stumps that were obviously meant to be the students seats.

On one of the stumps sat Draco all by himself. I glanced at Harry, and he motioned for me to go by Draco. I nodded, and sat on the stump.

He refused to acknowledge my presence at first, so I decided to break the silence. "So how has your first few days been going?" I asked.

He glanced at me and scowled. "Aren't you supposed to be mad at me and not talking to me?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry about earlier. You were just acting so different, and it pissed me off," I told him as kindly as he could.

"It's fine," he told me. "If you don't like the way that I act, then your right, you shouldn't be around me, you should just stick with Potter and his friends. You seem to really enjoy their company."

"That's not what I'm saying, Draco and you know it." He remained silent, refusing to look at me. I sighed, "Okay, I understand what you were saying before though. You have a reputation and you want to keep it. It's important to you, I get that. But sometimes you just act so cold, like I don't mean anything to you. I know you're not used to open sighs of affection, but sometimes I just want to be able to touch you without you recoiling away from me if someone might be able to see," I tried to take his hand in mine, but he pulled away. "You see what I mean?" I said sadly. "I'm supposed to be your girlfriend, but you will barely touch me, unless we are either alone or you are trying to prove to someone that I'm yours."

"We've been together for what? Two days? Maybe I just need to get used to this. Besides this morning when I was just to show you affection, you wanted to act more like we don't know each other. It seems like I'm not the only one who is having problems with knowing how to act," he told me coldly.

"Your right Draco. I don't know how to act," I said wrapping my arms around myself, feeling oddly vulnerable.

"It's not easy, is it?" he asked with a slightly sad tone in his voice.

I smirked at him, "Nothing ever seems to be."

He opened his mouth to say something, but my attention was diverted as a centaur appeared within the trees. The chatter that had evolved within the room as we waited ceased, and everyone stared at him. "The stars and heavens above us, can show us the history of the world. To those skilled enough, they can help reveal the past, the present, and at times, even the future…"

Class was fascinating to say the least. I've had some interesting teachers before, but never a centaur. They are always so secluded from wizards and usually refuse to help them, that I wonder how Uncle Albus managed to convince him to teach. His teaching style was both fascinating and frustrating. He hinted at amazing things that could be read in the stars, but wouldn't really tell us what they were or how to read them. The abstractness of it all drove me crazy.

After class, Draco and I went back out by the lake. We were silent for a while, just staring out over the water, enjoying each others company. "Do you trust Dumbledore?" he asked after a while breaking the silence.

"With my life," I told him, looking him straight in the eye to emphasize how much I meant it.

"That's good," he told me.

"Why?" I asked, taking a few strands of his silky hair in my fingers.

"It's nice to have someone to trust," he said absently.

"Who do you trust?" I asked.

He looked at me, and his gray eyes were so dark, they mimicked the sky right before a disastrous storm. "No one," he said a bit sadly.

I took his hand and he flinched a bit. "Hopefully one day that with change."

He smirked. "I doubt it." He pulled me close and put his arm around me.

"Why not?" I asked, burrowing closer to him.

"People betray you, whether they mean to or not. Why put yourself within their power? You should be in control of yourself," he said simply.

I turned and looked at him sadly. "You are too young to be so cynical."

He smirked at me. "I believe you are the one always saying how we older than our age, or something like that."

"Well you need to have more fun. Relax sometimes, just go crazy," I told him.

"What are you talking about? I have lots of fun," he told me indignantly.

I gave him a skeptical look. "What exactly do you do for fun, besides pick fights with Harry and his friends."

"I play Quidditch," he said matter of factly.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Where are you going?" he asked watching me wearily.

"Just by the water," I told him.

He got up and followed me. I knelt down by the water and waited until he got close, and then I splashed him.

"What did you do that for?" he asked furious.

"Just having fun," I told him, laughing.

He eyes blazed, "You are going to pay," he told me, and started splashing in the water too.

We had a huge water fight. We were laughing and splashing, and at one point we both fell into the lake, trying to get one up on each other. When we finally stopped, we were both laughing and soaked. He looked down at himself and scowled. "I'm soaked," he said in distaste.

I laughed, "It's just water."

"It's lake water. Who knows what's in it?" he said plucking his wet robes from his skin looking utterly disgusted.

I rolled my eyes at him and pulled out my wand. I muttered a drying spell, and instantly, my robes and hair were dry. I looked at him and smirked. "Nice huh?" I asked.

"Yes, now would you mind drying me?" he asked a bit grumpily.

I ran a finger down his cheek, "But I like you all wet. You look so cute while you sit there seething like a wet cat."

He growled and pushed my hand away. "Come on Marlene."

"Fine, you are no fun," I told him drying him with the same spell. The spell didn't have the best effect on his hair, which stood up a bit fluffily. I laughed and attempted to pat his hair down, not to much avail. He looked at his reflection in the water and glared at it.

"Great, now I'm having a bad hair day too," he said grumpily.

I laughed. "You looks so cute, especially when you are pouting," I told him kissing him.

He scowled, "I'm am not 'cute' and I don't pout," he told me indignantly.

I rolled my eyes, "Of course, what was I thinking?"

I led us back to the tree and sat down. "Am I going to be having a guest tonight?" he asked sliding his arm around me.

"I'm not sure. I'm kind of hoping for a whole night's rest, but I must admit it's worth waking up in the middle of the night to end up sleeping in your arms," I told him, cuddling against him, and then kissing him.

"You are such a girl," he told me, although he voice held a bit of warmth.

"Would you have it otherwise?" I asked him smirking.

"Never," he told me kissing me. While we were kissing I felt someone watching us. I pulled away and found Harry, standing a few feet away from us, looking quite a bit uncomfortable.

"Enjoying the show?" Draco almost snarled at him.

"I was looking for Marlene," Harry replied through clenched teeth.

"Well you found her," Draco said, keeping a firm grasp on me.

"What's wrong?" I asked Harry.

"I was wondering if we were going to practice today, but I see that you are busy," he said starting to back away.

"No, it's fine. It's a great idea," I told him turning to Draco, to see if he would get the hint and leave.

_You want me to leave don't you? _ he sent me, looking deep into my eyes.

_I just have to teach him some stuff. Dumbledore asked me, and it could really make things better, _I sent back.

_What exactly does this stuff entail? _he asked suspiciously.

I couldn't help but to grin. _Meditation, clearing the mind, relaxing, making out, you know boring stuff._

He glared at me. _You aren't funny. If Potter's lips come any where near you, I will personally kill him myself._

I kissed him yet again. _Don't worry about it. Your lips are the only ones I want near me._

He rolled his eyes. _You are so corny. _"Well Potter, you are in luck. I have to some things to do, so I'll leave you two alone," he said aloud. He sounded cordial enough, but you have to be completely stupid to not sense the subtle hostility in his words towards Harry. "Have fun," he said, caressing my cheek, before getting up to leave.

I watched him walk away, and when I was sure that he was out of earshot, I turned to Harry, "So shall we begin?"


	11. Forgetting

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Chapter Eleven:** Forgetting

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter Characters**

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"I didn't mean to interrupt you," Harry told me sitting down where Draco had been moments earlier.

"Its fine," I told him, still watching Draco's shrinking form as he made his way back to the castle. When he was out of sight, I turned my gaze back to Harry "It was only a matter of time before we would get into an argument anyways. At least now we parted on friendly terms."

"Were you guys talking? I mean, with your minds just now?" he asked, looking a bit embarrassed.

I laughed. "I guess we were a bit obvious about it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel excluded."

He shook his head. "It wasn't that. It was just weird. Looking at you two, I could tell that you were talking, but I couldn't hear any words."

"I suppose that would be weird. I've never thought about would it would be like on that side of it. Though most times I try to be coy about it so that no one knows about my powers."

"Can Malfoy read minds too?" he asked.

I couldn't help but to laugh. "No, why would you think that he could?"

"It looked as if he had initiated your, er, conversation. You were both looking at me, and then he turned to you with a questioning expression."

"You are quite observant," I told him laughing, before taking a moment to try to figure out how to answer. "Well he did initiate the conversation. I'm not exactly sure how he was able to do it. It's probably partially do to the fact that he has learned to block me, so it's easier to pick up on his thoughts because I'm not used to hearing them that often, and partially because he most likely has learned how to direct his thoughts to me so it's some what like he's calling me mentally," I said thoughtfully. I had never honestly thought about how others were able to get my attention telepathically, I just accepted it.

"Do you always hear people's thoughts, or do you have to concentrate on a person?"

"Since I'm a natural born telepath, I always hear the thoughts. They are there every moment of every day that I am around people, but I've learned to tune them out for the most part so they are just like a never ending buzz in my head. Once in a while thought someone's thought will be so strong that it will be hear above the rest. Or if I lose a bit of my control, something like what happened on the train with you will occur, where I will unintentionally delve into the person's mind and see their memories. If I want to hear one person in particular, then I would need to concentrate on them."

He sat there thoughtfully for a few moments. "So are you reading my mind every time I'm near you?"

I felt a bit uncomfortable. I didn't want to lie to him, and I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable around me either, so I tried to choose my words carefully. "In a sense, yes, but like I said, I've trained myself not to hear it. A person's thoughts are theirs alone, and I don't feel right intruding in on them. If I wanted to, I could hear all your thoughts with no effort at all, but I make myself not to. I've had people in my head before, and it is a horrifying thing. I swear to you Harry, I will never intentionally read your mind without your permission," I told him sincerely.

"I believe you," he told me quietly.

"So do you have anything in particular that you would like to work on today? Or should we just continue with the meditation?" I asked to change the subject.

"Meditation. I think its working. I actually slept decently after I left you last night."

I couldn't help but smile. It wasn't actually the meditation at work, but if it gave him motivation to keep working on it, I was ok with letting him believe it. He assumed the position and tried to clear his mind and get to that place I created for him on his own. After awhile, I started to help him. I entered his mind and was about to start filtering his thoughts for him, but my head suddenly erupted in pain. It felt like my head was splitting in two, and I was trying to get out of his mind, but I started to fall into darkness.

The next thing I was aware of was voices. They were faint, and I couldn't tell if they were around me, or if they were in my head. I tried to listen to see who they belonged to, but they were too faint to recognize. I felt as if I were wandering though some darkness trying to find something. I would hear a voice, and try to follow it, but it would just disappear.

After what seemed like forever of playing this cat and mouse game with the voices, they began to get louder and I was able to identify their owners, but I still couldn't understand what they were saying. Sometimes it was Harry speaking to me, and other times it was Draco. Occasionally it would be Severus, or Xavier, or even Uncle Albus. I tried to call out to them, but they couldn't seem to hear me. It was while hearing Draco's voice that the darkness finally began to disappear.

I could hear him talking first, just able to make out his voice. Then I could understand what was being said. _She looks so pale. I hope she wakes up soon. I knew I shouldn't have left her alone. What happened damn it? Why did I leave her? When is she going to wake up? This is driving me crazy. _

I knew I had to be tapping into his thoughts. His words were to fast and too frantic for him to ever speak them aloud. I called out to him, and then felt a cool hand upon my face. "Marlene?" he said softly. His voice was calm, with just an undercurrent of something else. Now he was speaking aloud.

"I'm here," I told him, though whether I actually spoke the words or not, I couldn't be sure. I suddenly realized why everything was so dark. My eyes were closed. With a great effort, I forced them opened, and the world around me burst into bright light and color. I groaned and tried to hide my face in my pillow. I felt a hand brush the hair out of my face. Little by little, I opened my eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light. Finally I was greeted with a pair of beautiful gray eyes, darkened with worry.

"You're awake," Draco told me softly, kissing my forehead.

"Where am I? What happened?" I asked, wincing. My throat was incredibly dry and it hurt to talk.

Draco noticed and poured me a glass of water and helped me sit up so I could drink it before answering. "You are in the hospital wing. I'm not sure what happened. What's the last think that you remember?"

I tried to get my muddled thoughts in order. "I was talking to you by the lake. Then Harry came along and you left. Harry and I were talking for a few minutes before we began practicing. Then my head started to hurt, and there was darkness, and voices. How long have I been here?"

"Almost 2 days," he told me quietly. I groaned.

"Great, it's the first week of classes, and I'm already missing class."

Draco rolled his beautiful eyes at me. "You are utterly ridiculous."

"You're awake," a woman in white robes said, clearly happy with the turn in events. "Why didn't you tell me immediately?" she asked Draco sternly.

"She just woke up. I was about to tell you," Draco told her, trying to look innocent.

She gave him a look saying she didn't believe a word he was saying, but dismissed it. "How are you feeling dear?" she asked me.

"I feel fine. I'm bit tired and confused, but fine," I answered honestly.

"That's wonderful news," she told me before proceeding to look over me. When she was satisfied that I was alright, she said, "I'll go let Dumbledore know that you are awake. He's been anxious to know when you were to awake."

I saw Draco scowl at the mention of Uncle Albus's name and suppressed a giggle. "That man's been a menace since you've been brought in here," he growled when the nurse was out of hearing range.

"He's probably just worried. Give him a break," I told him reaching for his hand. Uncle Albus might actually be the powerful wizard, Dumbledore, but if something were to happen to me while I was supposed to be under his care, my parents would do their very best to destroy him. Who ever came up with the saying, "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," must have been thinking about my mother.

He looked down at me and softened for a bit. "Are you really feeling okay?" he asked in a much softer voice. I was surprised by how caring he was acting. He must have been really worried about me for him to be as open wit his emotions as he was.

"I feel fine. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with me," I tried to assure him, but he didn't look too convinced. We sat mostly in silence as we waited for Uncle Albus, both of us caught up in our own thoughts.

"Marlene!" I heard someone call, breaking me out of my reverie. I looked towards the doorway, and Harry stood next to Uncle Albus. Both of them looked extremely relieved and happy. Draco groaned at the sight of them. Harry rushed to my side that wasn't already occupied. "I'm so glad you finally woke up," he told me, sounding a bit short of breath.

I looked to Uncle Albus. "What happened to me?"

"We aren't quite sure. I have a couple of theories, but first I need you to fill us in on the missing pieces. Tell us what you remember happening." I quickly recounted everything that I could remember. When I finished, the three of them were silent before Uncle Albus started talking. "It is as I had feared then," he said softly.

"What is it?" I asked, starting to panic.

He looked at me thoughtfully. "Boys, would you please give me a moment alone to speak with Ms. Wizidore?"

Draco became outraged. "No! I'm not going to leave her alone."

I was taken back by his sudden display of anger. He was usually so in control of his emotions, so detached. "Draco its okay," I tried to sooth him.

"I assure you she will be perfectly fine. It will be only a few minutes," Uncle Albus told him soothingly.

Draco's eyes glowed with anger, and beneath that worry and maybe a bit of fear. His eyes found mine, and I took his hand, hoping that I would be able to calm him and convince him that I would be perfectly safe. Finally his eyes, softened, and he silently left the room. Harry trailed after him seconds later, glancing back at me, before going through the doorway.

"What do you think happened?" I asked.

Uncle Albus sighed. "I never told you why I wanted you to teach Harry Occlumency. Maybe I should have explained things in the beginning."

"Uncle Albus, you never explain things, why should that have been any different?" I told him in good humor.

His eyes did not twinkle as usual, and I knew that things were bad. "I'm sure you are aware of what happened between Harry and Voldemort on that night so many years ago. I know that you are also aware that despite the beliefs of many, Voldemort did night die that night. What you don't know though, is that when Voldemort tried to kill Harry and failed, though his body was destroyed, he formed a bond with Harry. Their minds are connected."

I gasped. "What do you mean? Is Voldemort inside Harry's mind?"

"Not exactly, though characteristics were shared, and Voldemort gave Harry some of his powers. When Voldemort began to regain his power, Harry discovered that he could sometimes see what Voldemort was plotting, and channel some of his stronger emotions."

"So if Harry can see into Voldemort's mind, that means…"

"Exactly. I began to fear the Voldemort might be able to use the connection to get to Harry and use his knowledge to destroy our defenses. That's why I want him to learn Occlumency. When I didn't plan was the effects it could have on you. When you were inside Harry's mind, the connection between him and Voldemort opened. You, instead of Harry received what was going through his mind. The power of it was so powerful it put you in a coma for two days."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make sense though. Voldemort's thoughts were so strong it made my mind shut down? My mind is stronger than Harry's with my abilities. If one thought could put me in a coma, Harry would be dead."

Dumbledore shook his head, and a gleam appeared in his eyes. "You haven't been taking your potions like you were supposed to, have you?" he asked knowingly.

I felt myself blush. I had forgotten al about them. I shook my head. "I haven't felt the need to take them. I've been feeling fine."

"That's because the potions I gave you the first night wore off slowly. You were able to adjust to them so you haven't been able to notice the effects they have been having on you. You been becoming slowly weaker, getting drained by your powers. Harry isn't killed by the thoughts because of the bond he shares with Voldemort. It's been with him for almost the entirety of his life. He's used to it. If you were in your normal condition, the interruption would have probably had no effect on you, though you would have noticed it."

I felt really stupid. It was my own fault I was in the hospital. If only I had remembered those stupid potions everything would have been just fine. "I'm sorry Uncle Albus," I told him quietly.

"There is nothing for you to apologize for. It was my fault. I should have taken greater care to explain things to you. I should have made sure you knew the importance of the potions. I apologize to you."

"I feel so bad for worrying you all though."

His eyes twinkled. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy was quite distraught when he got the news. Mr. Potter blamed himself." I hung my head in shame. That could have been avoided. "Don't be so hard on yourself Marlene. You are but a teenager, and are allowed to act like it. That includes forgetting things sometimes. The weight of the world is not on your shoulders."

I laughed bitterly. "Yet," I corrected him. We both knew what the fates had in store for me.

He gave me a sad little smile as if he knew more than I did about what the future held for me. Knowing him, it wouldn't surprise me either. "Well, I think I'll let Mr. Malfoy join you again. He seemed quite upset that he had to leave your side."

"Will I be able to go back to my dorm tonight?" I asked before he could leave. It would be nice to be in Draco's arms again, though I didn't have much hope.

He shook his head. "I have already talked to Madam Pomfrey and she will make sure you take your potions, but I want you to stay here one more night to make sure you are all better. No disappearing in the middle of the night either. You will be released tomorrow morning, but are excused from your classes. Though I believe that you will still be expected to serve detention Saturday evening," he told me with the twinkle in his eye.

I groaned at the reminder. It was not something that I was looking forward to. With a final farewell, Uncle Albus left the room, and a few seconds later, Draco and Harry came back into the room, both of whom looked positively livid. I sighed. I was feeling too tired to deal with this, but if I didn't it would most likely erupt into a brawl.

"What happened with you two out there?" I asked when they were both at my side glaring at each other.

"Malfoy blamed me for what happened," Harry told me, keeping his cold gaze on Draco.

"It is your fault. You were alone with her, and now she is in the hospital wing. Who else's fault could it be?" Draco asked between clenched teeth.

"Draco, stop, it was my own fault. I forgot to take some potions. It was entirely my fault."

"If that's all that it was, then why did we have to leave?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"We had to talk about other stuff too," I told him.

"Like what?" he demanded.

"Don't worry about it Draco," I told him pulling him close to me so that I could kiss him.

"I think I should go," Harry said, looking at us awkwardly.

"Yes, go," Draco almost growled at him.

I elbowed him and turned to Harry. "You don't have to Harry."

He gave me a shy smile. "It's alright. I should let the others know that you are okay. They've been worried about you too."

I felt even worst than before. More people were worried about me. Even people who didn't even know me were worried. "Thanks for coming," I told him, then gave him a hug. His body was tense, and he awkwardly patted me on the back. He gave me another shy smile before he left.

I turned to Draco, expecting him to be furious, but his expression was uncomfortably blank. I waited for him to say something, to do anything, but he didn't. He just stared at him with that blank expression. I cautiously put my arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm really glad that you are here."

He exhaled, and his breath, warm against my neck, sent chills down my spine and he wrapped his arms around me. "I was so worried when I found out something happened to you," he just about whispered.

"I'm so sorry Draco. But come on now, you know that I can't be rid of that easily. It would take nothing less than the end of the world to put me permanently out of commission," I told him, letting him go.

He looked at me with sad eyes. "You didn't see how you looked. You were so pale, and so still. I thought I was going to go crazy waiting for you to wake up."

I took my first real look at him. There were dark shadows around his eyes that hadn't been there before, and his hair and clothes were a bit disheveled. "Draco, sweetie, get some sleep."

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine."

"When was the last time you got a full night's rest?"

He smirked at me. "You're one to talk about getting sleep. You haven't been able to sleep either."

"Please, get some sleep? You are already temperamental enough with what ever sleep you've been getting."

He gave me a haughty look. "I am not temperamental. Where would you get that?"

I laughed. "What in Merlin's name was I thinking?"

"I have no idea," he told me before kissing me. He pulled away smirking. "Do you still want me to leave?" he asked, still holding me close.

"No," I said, stilling another kiss, "but I do want you to get some sleep."

His eyes brightened, "I could sleep here."

"No you can't Mr. Malfoy. Now out, it's almost curfew, you should get back to your dorm," the nurse told him, appearing behind him.

He groaned. "I'll see you tomorrow," he told me, caressing my cheek. "Sweet dreams."

"Night, and get some sleep," I called after him as he left the room.

The nurse gave me a potion and told me to get some sleep. I fell asleep surprisingly quickly, and didn't even have nightmares. I dreamt about my parents, and a life that we could never be able to lead. We had a nice house, and a large yard, and I was playing outside with a sister. My parents were watching us, smiling, with no trace of fear in their eyes or thoughts. It was dream I would always wish could come true.

In the morning, I was released bright and early, but given strict decisions to rest and take things easy. I wandered down to the Great Hall to see if there was still breakfast, but most of the students were gone already. I looked at the professors table, and saw Xavier there finishing his breakfast.

I made my way over to him, and his handsome face lit up when saw me. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine. I just got released and thought that I would stop by to get some breakfast, but it looks like breakfast is over."

"Would you like something to eat? I'm sure we can get that arranged for you," Xavier told me, anxious for my well being.

I shook my head, "I'm not hungry. I was really just trying to kill some time. I don't have classes today, and I finished all the work I had from before. I just have to wait to get the assignments that I missed, but I was told not to worry about classes until Monday, so now I'm bored out of my mind."

Xavier laughed. "Well I was going to ask if you wanted to stop by my office and help me, but since you are supposed to be taking it easy, I think I'll forget that idea."

"No, that should be fine. It's not like I have anything better to do."

I followed him out of the Great Hall and to his office. I was struck once again by how much it reflected his personality. I collapsed into one of the chairs in front of his desk. "So what are you going to have me do, oh great one?" I asked him.

He rolled his eyes at me. "I forgot how utterly ridiculous you can be sometimes. I would like for you to help me pick out some potions for your grade level to work on. I gave them another try on Wednesday and the results weren't much better. Hermione Granger did fine, and that boy you worked with didn't do so badly, but everyone else pretty much made goo."

I laughed. "How are you going to survive this year?" I asked him jokingly.

His eyes darkened. "I don't know. Maybe this wasn't a good idea."

I sighed, "Xavier, I was joking. You are an amazing teacher. Maybe you should just go back to the basics with them for a few lessons, teach them how to do things the right way, and then go into the advanced things. That's what you had to do with me."

He thought about it for a moment. "That's not a bad idea. Let's look for some simple potions, something that won't be likely to blow up for them to start on."

I laughed as he handed me a book. "When is your first class today?" I asked.

"Next period. Would you care to sit in? Offer some guidance to your younger peers."

I shrugged, "Let's see how bored I am after doing this."

It was silent for a while except for the turning of pages and the occasional scratching of a quill when one of us found something that had potential. Suddenly he asked, "So why exactly were you in the hospital wing?"

I sighed, "My own stupidity."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "There are a lot of words I could use to describe you, but stupid would never be on the list. Care to explain?"

"When I first came here, Uncle Albus gave me some potions to take to help with my powers and to stop me from getting drained by the magic of the school. Well I sort of forgot to take them and my mind sort of shut down while I was trying to help Harry Potter clear his mind."

He chuckled. "That does sound like you. You think are you invincible, and then brought down by the smallest things."

I crossed my arms and glared at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"What about how you went charging off into a forest full of dragons but ran off from your Aunt Fredrica's puppy?" he asked with a smirk.

"That puppy was out for blood," I told him seriously.

"It was a one and a half pound Chihuahua, Marlene."

"With teeth like razor blades," I side with wide eyes and turning my hands into claws to try and demonstrate.

He rolled his eyes, "And I suppose the dragons' teeth weren't sharp?"

"They just need some love. Everyone is so quick to write them off as being dangerous."

"Perhaps because they have a tendency of destroying things, eating people, and setting everything in their way ablaze."

I waved a hand at him, "They are really cuddly at heart. You just have to gain their trust."

He shook his head in defeat. "Like I said, you are utterly ridiculous."

I grinned to myself. I always liked the nonsensical bantering me and Xavier always seemed to participate in when we weren't having our lessons. I always just liked being around him in general. He has this energy about him that makes everything seem brighter and easier. Though he had a hard life, and had the scars to prove it, he usually had a positive outlook on everything, though he was mature enough to be realistic about things too. I had to admit that when he first started teaching me I had a slight crush on him. Looking at him now, I could see why.

He was devastatingly handsome despite his scar. He was very charismatic, more intelligent than most people could believe. He was incredibly mature, being robbed of his childhood as he was, and it was endearing to see the joy and fascination in his face as he played and watched some of the simplest games in both the muggle and wizarding world. I'd never forget when I first taught him to play exploding snap. Or when I taught him how to work a yo-yo and he spent hours with the toy. But the more time I spent with him and the more I learned about him, the more I began to think of him as a brother.

"When was the last time you had a girlfriend?" I asked suddenly.

He looked at me surprised. He had gone back to his book while I was off in my own little world and my question caught him completely off guard. "What?"

"When was the last time you had a girlfriend?" I asked again, but this time slower.

He blushed a bit. "I don't really see what that has to do with anything."

"It doesn't. I'm just curious."

He fidgeted a bit. "I really don't feel comfortable talking about this."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come on, Xavier. We are friends. We've gone into battle with each other, fought dragons with each other, so I think we can talk about this."

"Why are you so interested in my love life?" he asked, suddenly angry.

"Why are you so defensive all of a sudden?"

"Because it's none of your business, so just drop it," he yelled slamming his book on the table, and glaring at me breathing quickly.

I just started at him for a moment, shocked. Xavier had never yelled at me, though I did give him plenty of reasons too. He was always too understanding and too patient for that. But here he was, yelling. Obviously something I said to him struck a chord. "I'm really sorry Xavier. Maybe I should just go," I told him closing the book and gathering the papers.

He sighed. "Marlene, no. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. I just…"

I cut him off. "You don't have to explain." I knew that it was really hard for him to open up and talk about things, and I didn't want to make him feel forced into talking. He gave me a crooked grin. "If you don't want to talk about things, then that's fine. I didn't mean to pester you."

"Thank you Marlene." I went over to him and gave him a hug. We started working in silence again for the remainder of his free period. When it was time for him to get to class he asked if I was going to join him.

I shook my head. "I'm kind of tired. I think I'm just going to lay down for awhile. I'm sorry."

"It's not a problem. Take care of yourself, and take your potions. Stop by any time," he told me.

I gave him another hug before I left, still feeling bad about upsetting him. It was just that I really cared about him and wanted him to be happy. Obviously there was still a lot about him that I didn't know still, and would have to tread carefully. I was still a bit worried about how he was going to fit in around the school. He was a lot younger than the rest of the teachers, and too old and too mature to be friends with the students.

I was so absorbed in my musings that it took me a few seconds to realize that there was a big commotion in the middle of the corridor. I heard some familiar voiced shouting in the middle of the chaos. I pushed my way to the middle of the group and saw Harry and Draco facing each other, both looking livid and both with their wands out.

AN-Thank you to all those who read. Feel free to review. :)


	12. A Relaxing Day

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twelve:** A "Relaxing" Day

* * *

I stared in shock at Harry and Draco, both with their wands out and both looking as if they were ready to kill. I pushed my way entirely out of the crowd and between the two. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded.

"Move out of the way," Draco told me between gritted teeth.

"No!" I said angrily. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Don't get in the middle of this," Harry said his teeth equally clenched.

I rolled my eyes, and pulled my wand out of my robes, quickly disarming both of them, and catching their wands as they flew towards me. "Now one of you tell me what is going on."

Draco opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a cold voice. "Potter, Wizidore, Malfoy. My office, now." I turned around to see Snape glowering at us. With one last deathly glare, the boys turned and began the journey to his office, and I followed them with a tight grip on their wands.

_What was going on? _Snape asked.

I looked at him. He had his normal blank expression on, and for a moment I wasn't sure that he was actually "talking" to me. _I'm not sure. I was walking back to my dormitory and saw a commotion. I came to see what was going on, and those two were about to kill each other._

_Well can you see what they were about to fight about?_

I smirked, but kept my eyes forward. _Now Severus, you wouldn't be suggesting that I abuse my powers, now would you?_

He growled mentally and out of the corner of my eye I saw a scowl flicker across his face. _Can you or can't you?_

_Don't be so tempermental, _I told him as I took a "casual" look into their minds but didn't find anything useful. _Draco is blocking me, and Harry is just wishing that Draco would drop dead._ I glanced back at him, and saw a trace of a smirk.

_So it's nothing out of the ordinary._

When we arrived to the office, Snape motioned for us to take a seat. I sat between the two boys, hoping to prevent any more arguments. After a tense silence Snape spoke. "Would someone tell me what you think you were all doing?"

The three of us remained silent. Me, because I had no idea what was happening myself, and those two, I sensed, out of some sort of embarrassment.

"If none of you want to tell me, I will give you all detentions until the end of the year," Snape threatened, yet it was still silent. "Marlene," he called my out, making me glare up at him, "I have a feeling you are the source of this entire ordeal." I just gaped at him.

"She had nothing to do with it," the boys chorus quickly, before turning to glare at each other.

Snape smirked. "Well then boys, what exactly was it about?" Both retained their sullen silence. "In that case, 20 points from Gryffindor and 10 points from Slytherin, and the two of you," he said motioning to the boys, "will serve detention with me Tuesday night."

_That's not fair. You are taking 20 points just for Harry. You know that I didn't do anything wrong._

Snape glared at me. "Make that 25 points from Gryffindor."

"For what? Neither of us did or said anything," I asked.

His glare darkened. "It is now 30 for your behavior, and you will also see me Tuesday night." I opened my mouth to retort but I quickly shut it. I was not in the mood to get into another argument. There was a brief look of triumph is his eyes. "Malfoy, Potter, get to class." They both silently got up and left leaving me alone with Snape. "You get released from the hospital wing, and a few hours later, you are already getting into trouble again."

I sighed. "You know that I had nothing to do with it."

"You had everything to do with it. Those boys were fighting over you. And what person would be idiotic enough to position herself between two people who are prepared to duel?"

"A person who can take care of herself," I told him defiantly.

"Says the girl who just spent two days in the hospital unconscious," he said coldly.

I glared at him in silence for a few seconds. "What do you mean they were fighting over me?"

He gave me an appraising look. "You mean you honestly don't know?" he asked smirking. "I guess you aren't as smart as you like to believe you are."

"I don't claim to know everything," I said starting to lose my temper.

"Due to whatever spark of insanity they have had, both are very fond of you."

I looked at him confused. "Well Harry and I are friends, and Draco and I are…friends as well."

"You can't possibly be that naive, or believe that I am that stupid. You and Mr. Malfoy are obviously more than just friends. And Mr. Potter's affections towards you reach far past that of a platonic nature."

I shook my head dumbfounded. "That is ridiculous. There is nothing between Harry and me. He knows this. Those two have never gotten along. They both openly admitted to hating each other and fighting long before I came here."

"If that is what you wish to believe."

"It is," I told him crossing my arms and staring at him darkly. "Where would you come up with that idea anyways?"

"You should really learn to observe those around you. You of all people should be aware of what those around you think or feel," he told me looking disappointed at my lack of insight into others. "When you came into class with Mr. Malfoy, the attraction between the two of you was very apparent. It's obvious that Potter has some type of attraction to you just by the way he looks at you. It's quite pathetic really, like a dog following its master with pure adoration. And now I will have to watch him look at you like that Tuesday night as well," he told me sounding both disappointed and sickened at the though.

"And why, might I ask do I have detention on Tuesday as well?"

"You don't. Tuesday is going to be the day of the week that we will be forcing our presence on each other according to the Headmaster's orders."

"But you said…"

"I did not say that you had detention. I merely said that you will be seeing me."

His words sunk in, and I realized that he was right. He had chosen his words very carefully. "I really don't like you," I told him glaring at him.

"I assure you, Ms. Wizidore, the feeling is mutual. Now I believe you are to be resting, and I assure you that you will need all the rest you can get for detention tomorrow night."

I stood up and turned to leave, but I had a question. "Why did you visit me when I was in the hospital wing?" I asked turning back to face him.

He looked surprised for the slightest moment. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you came to see me. You talked to me a few times. I could hear your voice."'

A flicker of emotion flickered in his eyes, but passed too quickly for me to be able to understand it. "You couldn't hear what I was saying?" he asked with a certain edge to his voice.

I shook my head, "No, I just recognized your voice. It was really distant, but I'm sure it was you. I hear a few others too."

He looked a touch relieved. "I see. Professor Dumbledore asked me to stop by to see if there was anything I could do to help. He thought that it might be possible that Dark Arts were involved, and since that is my specialty, it's only natural that he asked my thoughts on the matter."

I felt a bit disappointed, and there was something that didn't seem to make sense. "Oh, ok then."

He sighed. "I tried everything that I could think of to help you."

"Oh, well thank you for trying I guess," I told him, still unable to get rid of feeling of disappointment. I had a feeling there was more to his story, but a part of me really didn't want to find out what it was.

"What did you expect me to do?" he asked angrily, seeing that there was still something bothering me.

"I didn't expect you to do anything. It was my own fault. It was my stupidity that knocked me unconscious." I told him feeling tears of guilt in my eyes.

He studied me for a few seconds. "You really feel bad about this, don't you?" I only nodded. He sighed with exasperation. "What happened was stupid and could have been easily avoided."

I let out a bitter laugh and wiped at my tears, "Thanks, Severus."

"You've always been one to forget about the simple things. It's not that big of a surprise. You have other things on your mind that you are worrying about. It really isn't that surprising, especially given your nature."

I glared at him. "Do me a favor Severus and don't try to cheer me up anymore."

He grimaced. "I'll try my best to refrain myself," he told me in a sarcastic manner. "Now I will see you tomorrow night."

I sighed. "See you then, Severus," I told him before leaving. I entered the corridor only to find Draco and Harry standing there waiting for me. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"You are still clutching our wands in your hand," Draco told me smirking. I looked down and realized that they were still there. I blushed and handed them back to their rightful owners, feeling a bit awkward after my conversation with Severus about them. "See you later," Draco told me before starting to head down the hallway. Harry waved and then made is way in the opposite direction.

"Wait. Where are you two going? You have the same class."

They looked at each other for a second. "I think it would be prudent for us to refrain from partaking in each other's presence at the time being," Draco told me.

I rolled my eyes. "What if I act as a mediator?"

Draco shrugged and I looked at Harry. "Fine," he said tightly.

"Well then off we go. You guys shouldn't be later than you already are." Harry rolled his eyes at me and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Sounds like Hermione," but I ignored him.

The walk to class was very uncomfortable. No one said anything, and Harry and Draco kept glancing at each other as if they were getting ready to pounce, and it wouldn't have really surprised me if they did. If fact, I kind of wished they did. The tension was bothering me. The magic was crackling in the air, and putting me on edge.

When we finally reached the classroom, I stopped outside of it, and sighed in relief. "Well have fun boys, and try to stay out of trouble."

"See you back in the common room," Harry told me with a smile before entering the room.

"You know that I'm always a perfect angel," Draco told me with a smirk before following Harry into the room.

I sighed and shook my head at their antics. Those two could be worst than little children. I headed back to the tower to try and relax. I laid in my bed for a while, trying to sleep, but after a while that proved futile, so I went to my bag, and grabbed a sketchbook.

Sketching was something that I kept to myself the best I could. When I was younger, at an attempt to make me more well rounded, my parents decided to give me art lessons. I absolutely fell in love with it. For a long time, I spent all of my free time in my room, or outside just sketching whatever came to mind. I wasn't half bad, but I was no where good enough to become a professional, which suited me just fine. I just loved having something for myself for once.

So I took my sketchbook, and headed back to what was becoming my favorite place by the lake. I stared at the beautiful scenery for a few moments before I put my pencil to the paper and started to sketch. I was at it for a while, drawing the lake and trying to capture the majesty and ominous feeling that the forest gave off.

"You look quite intent there," a voice suddenly said from beside me. I looked over to see Xavier leaning against the tree and looked at me with an amused expression.

I smiled at him. "How long have you been there?"

He shrugged. "Awhile. I enjoy watching you work. You show a passion you rarely show in anything else."

I put down my sketchbook and motioned for him to sit next to me. He sat down with a grace that seemed oddly out of place for him. "Don't you have a class?"

He shook his head. "It's lunch time right now. I wasn't hungry so I thought that I would take a walk and I spotted you out here. Aren't you hungry? You didn't have a chance to get breakfast this morning."

"Not really, I can just wait until dinner."

He gave me a calculating look. "You really shouldn't be skipping meals, especially with you already so weak. You need to keep your strength up."

I rolled my eyes and conjured a plate of sandwiches. I grabbed one and took a bite. "Happy?" I asked. He nodded and laughed. I pushed the plate towards him, "Well if I have to keep up my strength then you should too."

He grinned, "Fair enough." We fell silent for a few minutes, just eating our sandwiches before he blurted out, "I'm sorry about earlier."

I was caught off guard and it took me a second to remember his angry outburst earlier. "Don't be, I shouldn't have pried."

"It's just complicated," he started to explain.

"No, Xavier, you don't have to explain. Your life is private I get that. I won't bother you about it anymore."

He sighed. "What brought it up in the first place?"

"I'm just worried about you," I told him quietly feeling a bit embarrassed.

"What do you mean?" he asked sounding intrigued.

"I don't want you to be lonely," I said. He chuckled. "No really. I mean the students are too young for you to really befriend, and most of the staff is a lot older than you. And I've never known you to have a girlfriend or anything. I was just curious."

He put his arm around me and hugged me close to him. "Marlene, I'm going to be fine. I'm used to being alone. You know that I'm not much of a people person."

"I know, but I don't like it. You are such a great guy. I just want everyone to be able to see that."

He chuckled again. "Marlene you know that I prefer to be alone. And besides I do have company. I have you, and Albus, and even Severus isn't that bad of company at times. Don't add to your burdens. You already have too much to worry about as it is."

I nodded. "Ok, just let me know if you ever want to talk or anything."

"The same goes to you. I'm glad you are making new friends, but if you ever need anything, remember that you still have people you can talk to."

"Thanks, Xavier."

He reached across me and picked up my sketchbook. He flipped through a few pages and I started laughing as he shook his head. I had long since enchanted my sketchbook so that only I could see what was in it. All he could see was blank paper. "When are you going to let someone see your work?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like I do it for anyone other than myself. I just want to keep to it myself for awhile."

He nodded, "I understand, but I think you should consider sharing it with someone one day. Someone might see something in it that would make them understand you better. They say art is the gateway to the soul."

"I'll think about it," I promised him.

I heard someone call my name, and turned to see Hermione coming in my direction. Xavier stood up quickly and put some distance between us. I studied Hermione for a second. _Relax _I sent him. _She doesn't think there is anything weird about us being together. She figures we must have known each other for awhile because of how we greeted each other in class._

_Even so I would rather not strike any wrong impressions._

I nodded slightly as I stood up to greet Hermione properly. "Hello Marlene, Professor Jamison," she greeted us.

"Hermione Granger, correct?" Xavier asked.

"Yes sir," she said blushing slightly and looking away. I couldn't help but to smile a little. She was starting to have a crush on him.

"I must say you are a wonderful student, and quite adept to potions. Marlene here is one of my best students, but I think you could give her a run for her money," he said smiling at her.

She looked up at him and for the first time caught his eye. There is something really amazing about Xavier. You can know him for a long time, but never really look into his eyes. Its not that you consciously refuse to look into his eyes, it's just that there is something about him that makes you not realize that you don't look into them. You could know exactly what color they are, mostly because they are a color that is not often seen, a golden color that could be as dark as melted gold or so light that they are almost transparent depending on his mood, but until that first time you truly look into his eyes, you will never understand how completely beautiful they are. As you gaze into those magnificent orbs, everything else seems to slip away and they are the only things that exist. The amazing thing about this though, is that Xavier always seems completely unaware that this happening, even though the person he is talking to is just about melting in front of his eyes. I've even seen it happen with guys, although to a lesser degree. They are just struck with the intensity that they find in his eyes. So when I saw Hermione start to melt before him, I couldn't help but to laugh and feel a bit bad for her since I had been in the same situation a few times, and I found it a bit embarrassing. Thankfully I was pretty immune to the power of his eyes by now.

"You are such a liar Xavier," I told him, causing him to look away from Hermione and allow her to start to regain her bearings. I saw her shake her head as if coming out of a daze

"What are you talking about?" He asked, confused and slightly angry. I knew he hated to be accused of lying. It was the one sure thing that would always make him angry

"You always complain about my mistakes in potions," I told him.

He grinned. "I never said that you were perfect. I just said that you were one of my best students. I could have had a bunch of really bad students."

I rolled my eyes. "You are great on the ego, you know."

He laughed. "I know, because you always tell me. Now if you would excuse me, I must be going."

"See you later, Xavier," I told him.

"Good-bye Professor," Hermione said, finding her voice again.

We watched him leave, and then I turned to her, trying unsuccessfully to hide my smile. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it was just his eyes…" she trailed off.

I laughed. "I know. I've been there. You'll get used to them eventually."

"Are you sure?" she asked with that dreamy quality still in here voice.

"Yep, he gets to the best of us, but eventually you won't be drooling at his feet. Don't worry though, he doesn't even realize it."

She shook her head again as if to clear it from the last of the cobwebs. "Well the reason I had come out here was to see how you were feeling. Harry told me that you got out of the Hospital Wing this morning."

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired that's all. I think everyone just sort of blew everything out of proportion."

"What exactly happened? No one seemed to know for sure," she asked sounding concerned.

"Exhaustion. I've been pushing myself too much and haven't been sleeping that well. It wasn't a big deal."

"Well I'm glad that you are feeling better. Harry was very upset when you didn't wake up. He blamed himself."

I sighed, knowing that I was probably going to have to talk him. "It wasn't his fault."

"I know, and I think he does too. But he still feels a bit guilty."

There was a brief silence before I asked. "Do you know what happened between Harry and Draco earlier?"

She shook her head. "They came to class late, but Harry wouldn't tell me what happened."

"Oh, ok."

"Do you know what happened?" she asked.

"Not really."

"Well class is going to be starting soon, so I should be going," she told me.

"Alright then, I'll see you later. And thanks for checking on me."

She gave me a bright smile, "No problem."

After she left I tried to go back to sketching, but I was too distracted. I was thinking about Xavier, and how he always insisted that I share my art, and I couldn't help but to wonder what the fight between Harry and Draco was really about. After a while I gave up and headed back to the dorm. I sat on my bed intending just to sort out my thoughts, but instead I fell asleep. I didn't wake up until I heard Hermione calling my name.

"Marlene, we are heading down to dinner. Aren't you hungry?" she asked.

Groggily I nodded and forced myself awake. We headed downstairs and when Ron and Harry saw me, Harry started laughing. "You look cheerful," he said sarcastically.

I glare at him, "Would you like to be in the hospital wing next?"

He just laughed. "How was your day of relaxation?" he asked as we started heading out of the portrait.

"Surprisingly enough, it wasn't all that relaxing. How was your day? Well when you weren't getting into fights?'

He groaned. "Besides that, it was okay."

"Are you ever going to tell us what the fight was about?" Ron asked grumpily.

"Malfoy was being a git, that's all," he told us, trying to drop the subject.

"He had to have done something to make you want to duel him," Hermione pointed out.

"It was nothing, just drop it," he almost yelled at us. Ron, Hermione, and I looked at each other in amazement. Whatever happened had Harry feeling very touchy about the situation. "I'm surprised that you don't already know," he told me.

I looked at him confused. "You haven't told me, and I haven't talked to Draco today." He gave me a weird look. _Do you want me to know?_

He looked at me a second before shaking his head, looking a bit embarrassed as we entered the Great Hall. "I'm sure your _boyfriend_ will tell you later."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't hold my breath." They all looked surprised, but I changed the subject. I didn't really want to talk about Draco. "So what did I miss while I was out?" I asked sitting down at the table.

"It was pretty quiet. We got loads of work though," Ron informed me.

"Ron is exaggerating, it's not that much. I'm sure they will let you make it up though, and you can borrow my notes if you need to," Hermione added helpfully.

"Hey you never let us borrow your notes," Ron complained.

"That's because you come to class but never bother to take any. It's not Marlene's fault she missed class," she pointed out.

"So if we miss class we can copy your work?" Ron asked hopefully.

"She's not copying my work, she's looking over my notes," she told him exasperatedly.

They sat down next to each other and I took a seat across from them, next to Harry, who looked a bit down. "Is everything okay?" I asked quietly while Ron and Hermione continued their bickering.

He nodded and gave me a crooked grin. "Yeah, everything is fine."

"Thanks again for visiting me in the hospital," I told him.

He looked a bit flustered. "It was no big deal."

"It wasn't your fault," I told him. He caught my eye for a moment and then turned away without saying anything. _I mean it Harry, it wasn't your fault. It would have happened anyways, I wasn't taking care of myself. Please don't feel guilty about it. It had nothing to do with you._

He looked at me again and nodded.

_And if Draco tries to convince you otherwise, just ignore him, he tends to be a bit of an ass._

This time when he caught my eye he smiled. I took his hand that he had beneath the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. I saw him blush and he refused to look at me. I remembered what Severus said earlier about him liking me, and immediately felt guilty. I didn't want to lead him on if it was true.

I looked over at the Slytherin table, and saw Draco watching me. _Having fun with Potter and his friends? _he sent with a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes at him. _We are just talking. What's with you two anyways?_

_We have our differences, _he sent with measured tones.

_So basically you aren't going to tell me what happened earlier._

_You are correct, _he told me and I could sense his grin. We stopped communicating for a few moments and I just ate my food in silence, absently listening to the conversations around me without partaking in any of them. After a few minutes he sent, _Are you feeling better?_

I couldn't help but to smile as I took a bite out of my food. It wasn't often that he openly expressed concern about another person. _I feel better. Just a little tired._

_Well then you should probably head to bed after dinner then._

I felt my smile grew. _I just woke up from a nap. Besides I thought that maybe we could spend some time together._

_Are you sure you feel up to it?_

_I think I can summon the energy. Meet me in the corridor in five minutes, _I told him, finishing my dinner. "Hey guys, I'm going to go take a walk," I announced to the table as I stood up.

"Want some company?" Harry asked.

I shook my head. "No it's alright, but thanks anyways. I'll see everyone later."

"See you later," Ron told me.

"Don't be too late, or you'll miss curfew," Hermione warned.

I nodded and waved to them as I left the hall. I made my way down the corridor a bit to find a place to wait for Draco, when suddenly I felt someone yank me into the shadows. A strong hand was covering my mouth, and my back was pressed firmly against a tall form with a muscular chest. "Whatever you do, don't move and don't make a sound," a rough voice whispered in my ear.

**A/N-**I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to review!


	13. Danger

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

My heart was pounding and I was starting to panic. With all my training and drilling, now that I was in actual danger, I was frozen and had no idea what to do. "Don't even think about trying to call out to them in any way," the voice whispered in my ear, and seconds later I saw a few students walk by. There was a voice screaming in my mind to do something, to use my powers, but I couldn't get them to work right. It should have been nothing for me to get away from this person, but for some reason, I couldn't do anything.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was could have only been a few minutes, I saw Draco walking down the corridor towards us. I started screaming his name in my head, trying to call out to him. As he was passing the statue, he paused for a second and looked in my direction. For a moment my heart soared and I thought he saw us, but after a second or two, he just continued down the hall.

As soon as he was out of sight, my captor tightened his alright tight hold on me causing me to wince, and whimper in pain. "We are going to cross the corridor. Don't try anything funny," he told me in a low rough voice.

He hurried us across the corridor, nearly supporting all my weight the entire time, and pulled me into an empty class room, where he let me go and quickly cast a silencing spell on the room. I moved away and turned to him, only to find myself face to face with a tall form in a dark cloak and the hood covering its face. "Who are you?" I asked, hearing a tremor in my voice and hating it.

The figure hesitated for a moment, and then pulled back its hood. I stared at the person in shock for a moment before yelling, "Uncle Damien?"

He looked at me with disapproval. "You panicked. You should have known who I was from the beginning. You should have been able to get away with ease."

"You attacked me," I said, still not believing what was going on.

"Yes, and I succeeded in abducting you. You could be dead by now."

"Why did you do that? What's wrong with you?" I asked feeling my temper start to kick in.

"I knew you weren't ready. You should be prepared for anything at all times. Especially when you insist on spending time with the enemy," he told me coldly.

I took a deep breath, trying to control my aggravation. Uncle Damien always took my training too far. No matter how well I did at something, it was never enough for him. I always had to be better, because there were always attacks happening everywhere. So far though, the only one to make a surprise attack on me was him. But at that moment, something else he said had caught my attention. "The enemy?" I asked.

"Albus told me that you have been spending a lot of time with Draco Malfoy."

"Draco is not the enemy. Voldemort is, in case you forgot."

He winced at my used of the name. "The Malfoys are known supporters of him. Draco's father is one his closest followers. Do you honestly expect Draco to be any different? His father would kill him before letting him turn his back on You-Know-Who."

"You don't know anything about Draco. He wouldn't hurt me."

"You think that spoiled brat would put his life on the line to protect you? To keep your secret? All he cares about is himself," he just about shouted at me. I stared at him unbelievingly. He didn't know the first thing about Draco. He had already put his life on the line to protect me. He did the moment he agreed to the bond, and has been since that very moment. I tried to walk away from my uncle, but he grabbed my arm and held me in place. "Can't you see that I'm just trying to protect you? Do you have any idea how important you are to this world?"

I shook my head and felt tears burning in my eyes. "That's all I am to you. I'm the weapon. I'm what is going to save the world from Voldemort."

He looked confused. "That is who you are. You can't change it."

"That's not all I am. I'm just a 16 year old girl. I am also your niece, your flesh and blood. I can't control the world. There is only so much I can do. What do you expect from me?"

"You are not just some 16 year old girl. You have been granted power that people have killed for. You are destined to be our savior. You can't just run away from your responsibilities. You have to stand up and play your role. I expect you to stop acting like a child and do what's right."

"My responsibilities?" I asked laughing. "Who made the world my responsibility? A prophecy? A stupid glowing ball? I didn't sign up for this, and I surely didn't agree. You all have pushed it on me. And who even knows for sure if it is supposed to be me? It could have been her."

He shook his head in disgust. "You know why it's you. Grow up and stop acting like a kid. Whining isn't going to solve anyone's problems."

"Look at me! I am just a kid. I wasn't born an adult. I have to grow up on my own."

"You're the reason this world is going to fall to the Dark. How can you go around befriending the enemy knowing this? How can you put all of our lives at risk for your own personal enjoyment?"

I looked at him in shock. He couldn't be serious, but unfortunately knowing him, he was. I just shook my head. "I'll be sure to tell Mom you stopped by," I told him heading towards the door.

"You can hate me all you want, but I'm not going to baby you. I'm telling you the truth, and sugar coating it isn't going to make things easier. You might not have chosen this, but you have to follow through. I didn't wish this on you either. I wish this didn't happen to you and that you could have a normal life, but the fates have other things planned for you. You may think of me as cruel and heartless, and that's fine, but all I do, is to protect you. Everyone wants to just pretend that you are normal and that nothing bad will happen to you. I'm just trying to prepare you, so hate me if you must," he told me. For the first time in my life, I saw some genuine emotion in his eyes. Unfortunately that couldn't change the years of hell he had put me through.

"Good-bye Uncle Damien," I told him before leaving.

I ran down the corridor trying to find Draco, but didn't see him anywhere. I started to panic, thinking that maybe Uncle Damien set a trap for him somewhere. I wouldn't really put it past him, especially since he had already declared him an enemy. The thought alone made me quicken my step. In the middle of my panic, I turned a corner and ran bodily into something and fell to the ground. I looked up to see Draco looking at me with a confused expression. I jumped up and threw my arms around him.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," he told me with a smirk.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into his neck.

"Where were you?" he asked, sounding as confused as he looked.

"I got lost," I lied, burying my face into his chest.

"You're lying. What happened?" he said his voice growing cold and he pulled me off of him so he could look me in the eye.

"Can we just go somewhere?" I asked tugging at his hand. He wouldn't move at first. He just kept glaring at me with a look that demanded that I spilled all my secrets. "I'll let you have your secrets if you let me have mine."

I saw him argue with himself for a few seconds. I knew that he hated having things kept from him, but his own privacy must have won him over because he finally said, "Fine, where do you want to go?"

I just shrugged. "Anywhere but here."

He led me back to the roof to the same spot where we had spent the night and watched the sunrise. We sat down, and once again he wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "Are you ok?" he asked softly.

I felt myself smile and I turned to look at him. "I'm fine. How have you been?"

He sighed. "I've been surviving," he answered vaguely.

"Are you ok?"I asked.

He shrugged. "I guess. But then again I'm not the one who was unconscious for two days."

"I'm sorry," I told him softly.

"For what?"

"Adding to your problems. I know you were worried."

He smirked at me. "What would make you think that I was worried?"

"I know you visited me a lot, and you would talk to me. I could hear your voice, though I couldn't hear what you were saying. And when I was waking up, I was inside your mind and heard you freaking out. Besides you even told me that you were worried after I woke up."

He chuckled. "I should have known that you would hear. You always hear everything." He ran his hand through my hair, his slim fingers twisting the long strands. "You are right. I was worried. You looked horrible. I thought you were going to die. I thought that just when you come back into my life, you were going to leave right away. And when Dumbledore told me that you were in the hospital wing…" he trailed off.

I hugged him closer and kissed him. "I'm sorry. I never meant for that to happen, or for you to be so worried. But I'm fine. You know it would take a hell of a lot more to get rid of me." He remained silent for a long while until I asked. "What are you thinking?"

"Does it annoy you? When someone blocks you from reading their mind?" he asked.

"Not really," I answered honestly. "I kind of enjoy the silence. I can't really turn it on and off, so usually I always hear this low mumbling in my head that I try my best to tune out. When they block me, it kind of makes things easier. And I don't accidently respond to something they are thinking rather than saying."

"What about when you really want to know what someone is thinking?"

I laughed. "It's a bit annoying knowing that I could know if I really wanted to. But I just remember that normal people wouldn't be able to know, and I usually get over it."

"Do you ever get so curious you read their minds anyways?"

"Sometimes. I can't always help it, and it was worse when I was younger. I try not to though, because I know I wouldn't want someone reading my thoughts."

"Have you ever read mine when you knew I didn't want you to?" he asked in measured tones.

I sighed and thought for a moment about how to answer him without entirely pissing him off. "When I knew you before, I did. You weren't that good at blocking your thoughts, and I wasn't that good at keeping my guard up. "Besides," I started, turning around so that I was straddling his lap, "touching makes it almost impossible for me to keep my guard up and the thoughts flow to me easily. Of course, sometimes I'm too distracted to pay attention to them." I started kissing him.

After a few seconds he stopped and looked at me suspiciously. "Are you trying to get in my head?" he asked with a dangerous edge to his voice.

I laughed. "Not literally. What's with all the questions all of a sudden anyways? You never seemed too interested before."

He shrugged. "It was more dangerous to know before."

"Why?" I asked, starting to feel suspicious and uncomfortable. I turned back around so that my back was to him, and he couldn't see my face.

"I didn't know how to block my mind as well before. And my father might have been able to get the information out of me."

"Did he ever get any information about me out of you?"

"Just your cover story that everyone around the manor knew."

I felt myself sigh with relief. If his father found out any information about me, I would have been in serious trouble. I started to think that maybe my uncle was right. Maybe it was dangerous being so close to Draco with his father being who he was. What if he found a way around the bond? Or what if he just didn't care enough about his son's life to spare him and forced him to talk? His father was cruel, and completely loyal to Voldemort. Was he willing to sacrifice himself to save his son if it came down to it? I shuddered at the thought.

"Are you ok?" Draco asked, his voice barely a whisper, his breath brushing my ear.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired still," I told him.

"You should get some sleep then," he murmured, his lips against my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

"I'd rather stay here with you," I told him softly.

He gave me a genuine smile, making my heart melt. "We always have tomorrow. You should get some sleep so you can feel better. Besides I heard you'll need it for what Snape has in store for you, and you'll probably want to start on your make-up work, knowing you."

I moaned, and buried my face in him. "Thanks for reminding me."

I heard him chuckle and he gently lifted me up. "We can spend all morning together, I promise. Besides I have some things to do. So go get some work done and don't forget to get some sleep. You know how to find me if you need me." He led me through the corridors for a few minutes before stopping. "Good-night, beautiful," he told me caressing my cheek before kissing me good-night.

I couldn't help but giggle. He was being unbelievably sweet, which was unlike him, and I couldn't help but to wonder how long it was going to last. I felt his eyes on me as I walked away and headed back to the tower.

When I got back to my common room, it was still full of my peers all doing something to pass the evening hours before heading to bed. I spotted Harry and his friends by the fire and headed over to them. "Have a nice walk?" Hermione asked, glancing up at me from a book.

"Yeah, I suppose," I answered sitting heavily on a sofa next to Ron.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

I smiled at him. "I'm fine. It's just been a long day."

"At least you didn't have classes," Ron mumbled, earning a sharp look from Hermione.

"Well I think I would much rather go to class than deal with a day like today," I told him.

He just stared at me like I had just sprouted another head. "Nothing can be worse than class," he told me seriously.

I rolled my eyes. "Do any of you have the assignments that I missed? I kind of want to start catching up."

Ron looked even more frightened of me. He leaned toward Harry, "She's absolutely mental! It's a Friday night and she wants to catch up on homework when she has a perfect excuse to not do it!"

Harry shook his head, "It must be a girl thing, mate," he assured him.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the boys. "I have the assignments," she told me handing me a rather long piece of parchment detailing my assignments. "It's nothing too difficult, but you can still look over my notes if you need to."

"Thanks," I told her before going upstairs to get my books so I could begin working.

The rest of the evening went by uneventfully. We spent most of it talking while Ron and Harry played exploding snap, Hermione read, and I worked on my homework. As it started to get later and more and more people started drifting up to bed, I stopped working and took the opportunity to really look at Harry. I had to admit that he looked a lot healthier than when I had first laid eyes on him, but he still had a bit of a sickly appearance. He was still way too thin, and there were dark circles around his eyes, indicating a severe lack of sleep. I felt guilt rush over me. I knew he was having trouble sleeping, and with me being gone for the last few nights, on top of the guilt he apparently felt, I was sure that I made it worse for him.

Soon afterwords, we all decided to head up to bed, since it was getting late. "Harry," I stopped him before he headed up the stairs. He paused and gave me a confused look. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder and used my energy to calm him. His body visibly relaxed and his eyes softened. "Sleep well," I told him. He nodded to me and started up the stairs almost as if he was in a trance.

I turned around to head up to my room and Hermione was staring at me. "What did you do to him?" She asked, suspiciously.

"I made sure that he will be able to get some sleep tonight," I told her, feeling nervous. I forgot how observant and bright Hermione was. I would definitely have to make sure that I kept my guard up with her if I wanted to keep my powers secret.

"He looked like he was put in a trance," she said, her voice taking an angry edge.

I sighed. "It kind of is. You can manipulate people's energies through touch to calm them down and relax their mind. Healers do it to help sooth their patients when treating them and they are upset," I told her truthfully as I stepped around her and started to make my way up the steps.

"What happens if you put him in that trance, and he is attacked or something? You could cause him his life!"

I stopped and turned on her. She was caught off guard and almost fell back down the steps trying to avoid running into me, but I caught her. "I would never do anything to hurt Harry. It is perfectly harmless. He is in complete control over his actions, it just makes him calm. As soon as senses danger he would snap out of it. And besides don't you think his falling asleep during the day and being too tired to function might be even more dangerous? Like I said, the healers do it to people all the time."

"Are you a Healer?" she asked with an accusatory note in her voice.

"No, but I've spent enough time with them," I told her simply, before continuing to the room.

"Why?"

I sighed, trying to calm myself since my temper was very close to going out of control. "Hermione, would you just trust me? I'm not going to do anything to hurt Harry. In fact, I'm here to help him. It would be a lot easier if I didn't have to fight you every step of the way. I know he hasn't been sleeping, and when he does, he's been plagued with nightmares. I was just trying to help him get a good night's sleep. If tomorrow he seems harmed in anyway but what I've done, I will give you full permission to hex me into the next world. If he is fine, would you just lay off?"

"Why should I trust you with Harry's well being if you can't even take care of yourself?" she snapped.

I felt my rage explode and I could sense the magic crackling in the air around me as I once again turned on her and looked her straight in the eye. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she could feel the magic and was scared. I spoke to her in a calm and dangerous voice, "If I meant any harm to Harry, he would have been dead before he got on the train to get here, and you wouldn't have had the slightest idea of what had happened to him. Voldemort would be ruling the world as we speak. If you have any doubts about that, you are in for a very rude awakening." With that I finished making my way to my bed, closed the curtains, and drifted off to sleep.


	14. The Mark

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter 14: **The Mark

I slept surprisingly well. I didn't even have nightmares, which I was very thankful for, and felt more relaxed than I had since I arrived. It was still dark out when I woke up and I debated staying in bed for a little bit longer, but I knew it wouldn't be too long before the sun finally rose and I wanted to get to work my late assignments. I quietly got dressed and put my school things in my bag before heading down to the common room. I sat by the fire and started to work, enjoying the silence.

Soon students began trickling down, and heading out through the portrait on their way to breakfast. Most of the other students just ignored me and went about their business. It wasn't until Harry came down that anyone said anything to me.

He sat down next to me yawning. "Morning."

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, what did you do?"

I was surprised. Most people don't remember when they have been calmed. I didn't want to admit to anything unless I was absolutely sure he knew about it, so I decided to play dumb. I mean, he could be talking about anything, so why should I just give myself away? "What do you mean?"

"You did something last night before we went up to bed. You did it before too. It helped me fall asleep"

I felt myself blush, feeling as if I had been caught doing something perverse. I made a mental not to myself to figure out why he was able to notice. "I can manipulate your energy. It's the same as giving you a Calming Drought. Healers do it all the time to calm their patients."

He nodded thoughtfully to himself. "I think that needs to go on the list of things you need to teach me."

I just laughed. "Unfortunately though, you can't do it to yourself. Meditation is the only thing I know of that would be close to calming yourself."

"Is that why we started with it?" he asked curiously.

I nodded. "That and it helps improve concentration. Believe me, the better concentration you have, the better you will do on the more complicated spells."

He sat thoughtfully for a few seconds before saying, "Maybe we should talk to Hermione about it when she comes down. She's better at that stuff than me. I think we should incorporate it into the D.A. meetings, and she could help."

I felt myself stiffen. "I'm not sure how receptive Hermione would be," I told him hesitantly.

He looked confused. "Why not?

"She saw that you seemed a bit different last night after I calmed you, and now she thinks I did something dangerous to you. She's probably going to be really suspicious of any ideas coming from me. She probably thinks that I'm brain washing you, or have you under a spell or something. She thinks it's dangerous, that you won't be able to react if something were to happen."

He seemed to consider that argument. "Is it dangerous?"

"No. It's just as if you were sleepy. At the slightest hint of danger, you would be wide awake and ready for action. I won't do anything to you that would prevent you from being able to react immediately without telling you and making sure we are someplace where nothing can happen to you."

He studied me for a second, as if measuring how trustworthy I appeared, then sighed. "I'll talk to her."

We fell into a silence and just when I was about to open my book up again, he spoke up.

"Did Dumbledore say when we can get back to our training?" he asked a bit timidly.

I looked up, puzzled. "Why do we have to wait?"

He flushed a bit. "Oh, I just thought that you might have to rest a while first."

I laughed, "Thanks for the thought, but no, I'm fine. We can train whenever we want."

"How about today?" he asked, looking hopeful.

I bit my lip, feeling bad. "I'm sorry I can't. I have plans." He looked a bit disappointed and I felt guilty. I mean it really should me more important to help Harry then to just spend some time with Draco so I thought quickly. "Why don't we practice tomorrow? I'm free all day. While I'm out today, I'll even try to come up with some lesson plans that we can go through and that you might want to use for your D.A. meetings."

He immediately brightened up. "That sounds good. So you are planning on helping me lead the D.A.?"

"I'm not sure yet. I don't know if I will have the time to make the necessary commitment that it requires. Besides classes and training you, I have extra lessons with both Severus and Xavier. I mean I will probably help whenever I can, but maybe Hermione should be helping you lead. It seems like she had the brains to handle it. And she's quite powerful."

He nodded, more to himself than to me. "She's brilliant. She was the one that started the whole club. I don't know what I would have done without her all these years. She was always the one to figure things out."

We chatted some more about various adventures he's had with his friends until Ron and Hermione finally joined us. Hermione immediately went to Harry and started fussing over him, making sure he was ok. "Hermione, relax. I'm fine," he told her a bit irritably. Finally she stopped, but kept shooting suspicious looks my way.

We headed down to the Great Hall, and started in on breakfast. The Hall was full of amicable conversations, even at the Slytherin table, where Draco was talking to some of his friends. Even Hermione and I were being nice to each other when the conversation forced us to communicate.

After we finished eating, the rest of my new friends headed off to enjoy their Saturday, and I milled around outside the Great Hall waiting for Draco. When he finally came out, he was flanked by a group of his Slytherin friends. When he saw me he turned to his friends. "I'll catch up with you later. I have some things to take care of."

"Like what?" asked a pug faced girl, who looked at Draco with such fawning in her eyes it was disgusting.

"Things that don't concern you," he snapped. She recoiled and looked mildly hurt, but didn't reply. "If there are no other interrogations, I'll see you later." He turned on his heel and walked past me, subtly motioning for me to follow him.

I turned back to his friends first to observe them for a few seconds, so that it wouldn't look too obvious that I was going to meet him. The two brutes from the train were there, looking as confused as ever. The rest of his friends looked bored and lost except for the pug-faced girl who saw me observing. "What are you looking at?" she snapped.

I just grinned at her. "I'm just wondering what you are going to do without your leader. Hope you don't get lost," I told her before turning to follow Draco. I followed him down two different corridors before he finally stopped. "I think you really should get new friends," I told him.

He raise and elegant eyebrow at me. "Really? And what has brought you to this conclusion?"

"They all look like a bunch of idiots."

He laughed, "You haven't even met them. Weren't you always the one talking about how you shouldn't jump to conclusions about people? They could be very brilliant people." I just looked at him unbelievingly, allowing the skeptism to show on my face. Finally he rolled his eyes, "Okay they aren't. They might not be the smartest people in the world, but they are loyal. I bet you would rather I become friends with Potter and your other Gryffindor friends," he told me with a sneer.

"I know you would never lower yourself to befriend the common people of Gryffindor," I told him in my best haughty voice. He glared at me and I just laughed. "It's just weird how they look at you."

He looked puzzled. "They completely adore you. It's almost like they worship you, or you aren't human. Especially that girl."

A flicker of emotion passed across his face, but it was gone before I could see what it was. "Pansy? She's half in love with me, and always follows me around hoping that I'll give her the time of day."

I felt myself freeze. Of course girls would be interesting in Draco. He was handsome, and if anyone ever managed to get past his attitude, he could be quite charming and sweet in his own way. Granted he wasn't the world's biggest romantic, but he did show affection surprisingly well. It just never crossed my mind to think that he might have been involved with someone else before I came back into his life. "So you've never given her the time of day?" I asked hesitantly, not quite sure that I wanted to know the answer.

He turned to me with a smirk. "Now you wouldn't be jealous, would you?" he asked, finding joy in the possibility.

"Of course not. I just wouldn't want to get in the way of any of your other relationships," I lied smoothly.

"They don't mind," he told me with a grin. I froze and stared at him. He laughed and slipped an arm around me. "I'm joking! You are my only relationship. I promise." He kissed me gently before continuing to lead me down the corridor. We walked around the castle for awhile before we made our way outside and found a shady area out of eye sight of the rest of the students milling around on the grounds.

"So if that Pansy girl follows you around because she's in love with you, what about your other friends?" I asked, resuming the conversation once we were lounging comfortably in the warm grass watching the clouds roll in. Although it was warm and there weren't many clouds in the air, there was an unmistakable moisture in the air, which could only mean that it was going to rain and soon.

"They are all the children of Death Eaters. They will probably join them when they leave here. I guess they just figured they better get used to following someone around and doing what they are told. And I suppose that it's easier to follow someone else around instead of thinking for yourself." He spoke absently, almost as if it was of no concern to him.

"So how did you become their leader?" I asked playing with a lock of his hair.

He shrugged. "I guess part of it is because of my father. It was high up in the Death Eaters, I guess. At least he was higher up than the rest of the parents here. I guess the leadership just fell to me. And I'm the only one with enough common sense to do the job."

We fell into a silence, where I pondered his words. I believed him when he said he was the only one who was smart enough to lead his friends. They all looked just about as dumb as doornails. But maybe Draco was right. Maybe I did judge them too hastily. I doubted that Voldemort would have the patience to deal with people who were completely dumb. Though, if they were able enough to carry out his orders without getting into too much trouble, they probably would be able have a place doing his grunt work. I couldn't, however, ever imagine Draco bowing down to Voldemort. He was always too proud, too arrogant for something like that. Even if he was high ranking, I doubt that Voldemort would treat any of his followers, even the most loyal with any respect. People didn't follow him for respect. No, they followed him for power, and because of fear. "Are you going to join him?" I asked finally, breaking the silence.

"Let's not talk about this," he said quietly.

My thoughts started whirling. He couldn't do it. If he did, we would definitely be forced to fight against each other. I always knew that it was a possibility, but it always seemed so long in the future. I hoped that things would change before they came down to that. But now I was realizing the time to choose sides was coming much closer. "You don't have to! Your father is in Azkaban. Albus will protect you if that's what you are worried about. I'll protect you. But you don't have to Draco," I told him, nearly clinging to him.

"I said, that we aren't going to talk about this," he told me angrily.

I opened my mouth to argue, but then I closed it, knowing that I would just make things worse by arguing. "I don't want to see anything happen to you," I told him softly.

He caressed my cheek. "I know, but no matter what I decide to do, something can happen to me. Let's just enjoy the time we have while we can, okay?" I nodded and he kissed me softly.

Neither one of us seemed to have anything to say after that. We sat mostly in silence with our arms wrapped around each other until the sky opened up and rain came pouring down. Draco tried to run for the castle, but I held him in place. "What are you doing?" he asked annoyed. "We are going to get soaked!"

"You are a wizard. You aren't going to melt if you get a little wet." He glared at me before I pulled him down to me in a kiss, and he quite forgot about his protests. We were out there for kissing, and I could feel the steam rising from our skin.

Finally he pulled away, "Now can we go inside?"

I grinned. "I guess so." We ran across the grounds until we made it to the large doors. Once we got inside, I dried us off. "So where do we go now? Lunch hasn't even started yet."

He seemed to think about it for a second before taking my hand and leading me away. "Can't you ever just tell me where we are going instead of leading me like a dog?" I asked, deliberately dragging my feet and slowing him down.

He grinned. "Where would the fun be in that?" He tugged on my hand to make me walk faster.

"Don't even think about trying to put me on a leash," I growled and he just laughed. After leading me through a maze of corridors he told me to stop at the end of a hall. He walked past a wall three times, and then a door appeared before my eyes. I stared at it for a few moments while he opened it and looked at me smugly.

If I was amazed at the door appearing out of nowhere, it was nothing compared to the amazement I felt when I entered the room and realized that it was an exact replica of the cabin he and I used to run to, 3 years ago. "But how?" I asked, stunned.

"This room becomes whatever you want or need it to be. You walk past it and concentrate on what you need and the room will appear with it all. It's pretty useful."

I looked around the room, amazing at how similar it was to our cabin. It even had the artwork that we hung on the walls and the game of wizard's chess we had on the coffee table next to a few spell books we used to flip through. "So what if you are in here and you need something. Like what if we get hungry?" As soon as the question was out of my mouth a plate of food appeared on the coffee table. "This is just plain weird."

"Says the girl who can make things appear at will," he told me smirking.

"True. But at least there I have to make a conscious effort. I just thought food and it appeared. It's a bit unnerving. Is that what it's like when I read your mind?"

"You don't really make it known that you are reading minds. Except through conversation, but that's not the same thing," he told me making his way over to the couch. We curled up on the couch, and before I knew it, he was asleep. Chuckling to myself, I extracted myself from his hold and took my homework out of my bag.

I managed to finish all my missed work and started working on my lesson plan for Harry's lesson and things that would be useful for his DA meetings. I was in the middle of the plans when Draco woke up. "What are you doing?" he asked sliding his arms around me.

"I promised Harry that I would come up with a plan of what I would be teaching him. I'm sure Albus would appreciate seeing it too. "

I expected him to get angry. I was basically admitting to be planning on spending quite about of time alone with Harry. Instead though, Draco merely looked thoughtful. "What do you plan on teaching him?"

I hesitated for a moment, unsure if I really should tell him. If Voldemort knew exactly what Harry knew, it would be a big disadvantage to Harry. Then again, just giving a general idea, wouldn't tell the specifics and there was a lot more that I was going to be sure to teach Harry than what I had on the parchment in front of me. "Well, our main focus right now is going to be on perfecting his meditation and strengthening his mental barriers and getting control. We'll probably work on nonverbal with more complicated spells and other things that help develop better concentration. I want to try to teach him dueling, but I'll have to okay that with Albus first."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Are you going to teach him everything you know?"

I laughed. "You know I can't teach everything I know. It would be impossible. Some of it can't be learned. And even some that can be learned isn't for everyone. It just depends on what fits him best."

"He's nothing but a brute. He'll stoop down to physical means if he has to," he growled.

"Sounds like you know firsthand." He shrugged and lay back on the couch. I put away my parchment and sat down on the couch by his legs. "Have you even had detention with Snape?"

He grinned. "No, I usually stay on his good side. You have his detention today right?"

I nodded. "He'll probably use it to torture me."

He chuckled, "I wouldn't doubt it. Just please don't start dueling him again. I'd rather not visit you again in the Hospital Wing"

"I could take him. Besides, he's the one who always starts it," I pouted.

He rolled his eyes and pulled me down so that I was laying next to him and kissed me. "You're so cute when you pout."

We spent the rest of the afternoon in that room that was so remarkably like our cabin. We talked, played chest, argued, made up, and just were generally together. The room provided us with lunch and dinner when we were hungry. I had a really good time for the most part, until I looked at the clock and realized that I had to get going so I wouldn't be late for my detention.

Draco walked me down to Snape's office. "Good luck," he told me with a grin before giving me a quick kiss good bye. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

I heard him tell me to enter, and I did. His office was filled with grotesque portraits much like the class room, and various colored potions with odd things floating in them. "You are early. Were you excited to get to work?" he asked with a sneer.

"No, I just like to be on time for stuff. So what are you going to have me do?" He set me about cleaning out his stores. The main job was to go through his cupboard and discard anything that was out of date and rotting. "You do know you aren't the Potions Professor right?" I asked looking through all the ingredients.

"Regardless of my current position, I am a Potions master, and I still brew frequently. Now there is no need to talk. This isn't a social hour, and I'm sure we will have enough forced conversation in class and on our Tuesday meeting." I sighed and started to get to work.

After about an hour I came across an ingredient and was unsure of what it was. I turned to ask him and noticed that he was absently rubbing his left arm. The sleeve of his robe came up and I got a glimpse of a tattoo. I dropped the jar with the mysterious ingredients and it shattered on the stone floor. He looked up at me sharply and his sleeve fell back to cover the Dark Mark. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded and he stood up and bore down on me.

"You have the Dark Mark," I just about whispered, backing away from him.

His glare changed slightly. "You must have known. You love to throw my dark past back at me."

"But you are with him! You are a Death Eater! You're spying on Dumbledore!" I shouted at him.

"You don't know the whole story Marlene. Just calm down. Do you honestly think that Dumbledore would let me teach here if I was a Death Eater? Do you think he would let me anywhere near Potter, or you?" he told me reaching out to me.

I stunned him before he could do or say anything else and teleported to right outside the headmaster's office. I barged in without answering and Uncle Albus looked up at me surprised. "What's wrong? You are supposed to be in detention with Severus."

"He's a Death Eater!"

He studied me calmly for a moment before asking me. "Where is he?"

"He's in his office. I stunned him and came here," I told him, feeling myself shaking. I couldn't believe that I was so close to a Death Eater, someone who actually followed him and didn't know it. I trusted him. I knew he had his dark side, but I really thought he was one the side of the Light.

Uncle Albus sighed. "Severus is not a Death Eater."

"Yes he is!" I protested. "I saw the Mark."

"It is true he has the mark. He once followed Voldemort, but now his loyalties lie with me."

"How do you know? What makes you think he can be trusted?"

"He has proven himself to me, and no I will not tell you how. He puts his life on the line every day for us. He still assumes the façade of a Death Eater and spies on Voldemort for us."

"Are you sure it's not the other way around?"

"Yes, and I'm sure if you think about it so will you. You have spent many hours at a time alone with him. If he were a true Death Eater, don't you think he would have done something to cause you harm? Don't you think you would have noticed that he was evil? Surely you would have seen it in his thoughts. True he isn't always the most congenial people and you two definitely have had your differences, but has he ever done something to cause you permanent damage? Do you think that I would even allow him anywhere near you if I didn't have complete faith in him? Don't you think Voldemort would have known of your survival by now?" He fell silent, just watching my reaction.

I thought about it all and realized that of course, he was right. I felt pretty stupid for over reacting. I sighed and sat down. "Why didn't you just tell me in the beginning?"

"He has always been quickly judged. Most people know of his past and don't even give him a chance to redeem himself. I think I'm the only one who truly trusts him. I wanted to give him someone that wouldn't judge him too quickly. You would have never gotten as close to him as you did if you had known, would you?" I shook my head. "He's the same Severus you have always known, so please treat him as such. Now what do you say we go get him and have a nice little chat together?" I groaned but followed him. I was not looking forward to dealing with Severus's wrath.

A/N-Hope you enjoyed!! Review!


	15. The DA

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Note: **I just want to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing. I completely suck at answering reviews but I do love them! Also for the record, Xavier Jamison is an original character. Sorry for any that might have confused. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 15: **The D.A.

The next two weeks passed in a blur. It seemed like I did nothing but school work and study, punctuated with extra lessons, training, and very few stolen moments with Draco. My wish to be challenged was granted if not by difficult homework, then by the sheer volume of work I had been given. Time management was definitely not one of my strong points. The only thing that didn't seem to increase was the number of times I went to Uncle Albus's office. He seemed to know how much my workload was expanding and didn't call me in for any meetings.

After the whole incident with Severus, he seemed more reserved than normal. During the next class, he seemed almost content to pretend that I didn't exist. He didn't exchange insults with me, and when he once again told us to pair up and practice, he didn't even come to observe Draco and I. In our private meetings, he spoke as little as possible and would barely even look at me. Every attempt I made to talk to him was either waved away or completely ignored. I was a bit uncomfortable at first, but then I realized that he was just the same Severus I knew before and refused to back down. I vowed to make him fight with me again.

Potions seemed to take a turn for the better. The class was improving a lot since that first potion, and instead of having me participate in class, Xavier had me walking around, acting as his assistant. My lessons were taken in private and my assisting ensured that I was maintaining sufficient knowledge of the potions required for my year. By helping the class fix their mistakes, I was able to refresh my memory on these potions, since I had brewed them before. It turned out that most of the problems were from just basic mistakes. Many of them didn't understand out important it was to cut the ingredients at certain angles or how precise the measurements had to be. The class seemed to be reluctant to take my advice, and I didn't blame them since I was still just a student. After the first class or two, they seemed to start to take my advice in good faith, especially since Xavier was walking around giving the same advice.

Harry was making good progress in our lessons together. He managed to reach a meditative state on his own and I was working on getting him to construct barriers in his mind to prevent people from getting through. His main problem with the lessons was that he was impatient and expected to see immediate results. I made sure to note this so the in the future I make sure that I engrained some lessons that he would be able to pick up quickly with ones that took more time in order to help keep him focused and entertained.

Ron, Hermione, Harry, and I worked together on our homework most of the time. I seemed to be put in charge of helping them with the practical aspects of class. Even Hermione was allowing me to help her and give her pointers. She was already a quick study and managed to work the spells quickly, but I was able to give her little tidbits of advice that made her spells stronger. Nonverbal magic had become required for most of the other classes, and I took the same approach as I did with Draco to help them better grasp the technique. It worked so well that Harry was begging me to come to the first D.A. meeting.

Reluctantly one Friday found me being pulled through the corridors by Harry, leading me to the D.A. meeting. "Come on, it's not that bad. It's actually fun. It's not like class or detention," he told me and pulled me, maintaining a firm grasp of my arm.

"Yeah, but I don't do well around groups of people," I complained.

He rolled his eyes. "You do fine assistant Professor Jamison in Potions. Stop complaining and just do it. It's not even a real class."

I kept sulking until he led me to the room that Draco and I would sometimes escape to that looked just like our cabin. This time, however it was much different, taking the appearance of a comfortable room, but was fully equipped with items needed for training including an entire library on Defense, and cushions to fall on. I was surprised on the number of students that were there and the variety of houses. In the few weeks that I had been there, I saw that there wasn't much inter-house interaction. Slytherin especially stayed to themselves, and the others were cordial to each other, but it wasn't often to see groups from all three together. The only house not here was Slytherin, which wasn't a big surprise.

Harry started off the meeting by having us practice simpler spells like disarming and stunning. After a few minutes he stopped us to announce the lesson. I was surprised at how well he was able to get their attention and how organized everything was. In my experience, groups led by students alone led to disaster. Either no one got anything done, or arguments disrupted everywhere. Everyone stopped and seemed to listen and respect Harry as if he were one of their professors. I silently hoped they would listen to me without too much difficulty. "OK now that you are warmed up, we are going to have someone else head today's meeting." Murmurs erupted at once, confused. It seemed like Harry was the only one to ever lead the group. "Marlene?" he called to me. I sighed and stood up.

I felt myself blush as I saw everyone look at me expectantly and began to fidget. "Hi, I'm uh, Marlene. I haven't met a lot of you, because I'm new here." I paused, and saw that they were still looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. I cleared my throat then pressed on. "So right, today I'm going to help you practice your nonverbal spells. I know most of us sixth years are learning how to do them, but a lot of you seem to be struggling with it. So we are going to start with something simple and use the same concept for more difficult spells." I stopped, looking around for moment wishing I had something simple that I could pass out for them to try levitating. Suddenly in the corner of the room a box of feathers appeared. I picked it up and faced the group again. "Ok, so each of you is going to get a feather and we will start."

I instructed them as I had done my trio of friends, and Draco before that. Many of them seemed to grasp the concept well, and became very excited, floating their feathers around the room as a few others struggled. For most of the others, the only problem was a case of the nerves. One especially, Neville, seemed to get more nervous and frustrated with every failed attempt. I talked to him a few minutes and put a calming hand on his shoulder, telling him to take a deep breath. He was successful on his second attempt after that, and appeared to gain confidence. After awhile I had everyone pair up and start trying out casting spells on each other like the disarming and stunners.

It started to get late, so I stopped the lesson. "I know it may seem like a lot now, but as you practice, the spells will come a lot easier and you won't have to go through the whole visualization process. Just keep practicing and remember to not let you let your mistakes and failures get to you. Stay positive and calm. The key to most magic is concentrating. When you get frustrated and nervous, you are less likely to be able to perform the spell correctly. Just take a moment and take a few calming breaths before trying again."

"Will you back for the next meeting?" someone asked.

I was caught off guard. I looked at Harry, who just grinned. He kept telling me that they would like me and would want me to stay, but I didn't believe him.. "I'm not sure," I told them honestly. "This is fun, but I can't make any promises. I might not be here for every meeting but I'm sure Harry with make sure I come back for some of them at least." There were some soft chuckles around the room before Harry stood up.

"That was a good meeting. We will let you know when the next one will be. We'll try to have them happen more often than last year, now this isn't against the rules and we aren't risking expulsion. If you know anyone who might want to join, point them to Hermione and me. I guess this is it, so I'll see you all around."

A lot of the group left in clusters of friends, while others milled around chatting a bit. "You did a great job," Harry told me as we milled around, straightening up the room. I didn't think that we really need to clean up. I mean if the room could create all this on its own, then I was fairly certain it could clean up on its own. But I guess it was common courtesy to clean up after ourselves, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione all seemed to find it second nature, so I took it that they did it after every meeting.

I shrugged, "I guess it went pretty well."

He grinned, "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

I sighed, "It wasn't so bad. I'd definitely be willing to come back and help out. I've never seen such a well organized student group."

He shrugged, "I guess it's out of a sense of necessity. The war is a big reality for most of us here. We are either involved or members of our family are. It works as a great incentive to work hard. Plus it has helped a lot with their school work and gain confidence. Neville used to be horrible with spell work, but now he's a pretty decent wizard. Luna was always an outcast, but this gave her a place of belonging and some friends. One thing you can say about the D.A. is that they stick together."

"Well you are a natural leader. And they really listen to you. I guess you being you doesn't really hurt either."

He laughed. "Some of them are just waiting for me to start telling them more stories about facing Voldemort. They are really a sick bunch of folks. They seem to get their kicks from it."

"You can't really blame them for being interested in how one of their own peers managed to escape him when so many adults have fallen before them. I'm sure it's not that they just want to hear about your misery."

Before he could reply, Ron and Hermione joined us. "That was brilliant," Ron told me.

"Thanks," I told him feeling myself blush.

"We should head back to the common room. It's almost curfew," Hermione told us.

The four of us headed back to the tower, laughing and joking the whole way. Harry seemed to be really excited and started coming up with plans for future D.A. meetings. He wasn't kidding about making them more often. At the rate he was planning, he would have on a week. Unfortunately though, a lot of his plans seemed to involve me helping out. He wanted to have one lesson dedicated to meditation and some of the defense spells I started teaching him. Over the last couple of weeks, Hermione seemed to start to warm up to me again, but she still didn't seem too keen on having me around too much, so the lessons seemed to bother her too.

It was late by the time I made it up to bed. I had a restless sleep and woke up in the middle of the night in Draco's been for the first time in about a week. He barely even stirred at my presence. I cast a few charms around his bed so that no one would be able to find us. Then I just curled up against him and drifted off again.

I woke up a few hours later to fingers cascading through my hair. I opened my eyes and peering blearily at Draco who had a soft smile playing on his lips. "Good-morning," he told me softly.

"Good morning," I told him stretching. "How as your night?"

He shrugged. "It was quiet. I didn't do much. Yours?"

"It was good. There was a D.A. meeting and Harry had me teach it. It was fun. You should join."

He started laughing, "Yeah, me join a group called Dumbledore's Army. I'll learn how to fight the Dark Lord and run around saving the world."

I rolled my eyes. "Now come on Draco, no one would really expect you to save the world. You are the epitome of evil."

"Don't forget who my father was. You can't honestly believe that he hasn't taught me some things. I could probably take you on."

It was my turn to laugh. He really had no idea what I could be capable of. "You keep thinking that," I told him.

"I'm pretty sure of it," he told me with a smirk.

I sat up, grinning, raising to the challenge, "Maybe we should see about that."

"You bet we will," he told me before sitting up and capturing my lips in a kiss. I got so wrapped up in him that before I knew it I was laying down again with him on top of me effectively pinning me to the bed. Suddenly he pulled away with a huge smirk. "I told you I could take you on. It's all about knowing your opponents weaknesses."

I glared at him and was about to open my mouth to retort, but he cut me off by kissing me once again. I guess he was right, and he certainly did know my weakness. We carried on like that for a while both of us knowing that it was Saturday and neither of us had any place of importance to get to any time soon. I did have a lesson with Xavier, but that wasn't until mid afternoon. We would probably spend the day with our respective groups catching up on homework.

Finally I pulled away. "I really should get going."

He groaned. "Why? We are having so much fun," he complained kissing me again.

"I know, but if I don't leave soon, I'll be here all day."

He grinned. "I like the sound of that," he told me, moving to my neck, concentrating on a sensitive area that often made me lose all thought process.

His diversion tactics worked for a short while, until I could hear his roommates blundering around the room. I wasn't worried that they would find me, because the charms were still in place, allowing us to hear what was going on outside of them, but preventing anyone outside from hearing what was going on inside. I did realize though that I should be heading back. I was making progress in getting Hermione to accept me, and Ron seemed to like me pretty well, and I didn't want to ruin that by disappearing and not being able to provide sufficient excuse to explain my absences. "Draco, sweetie, I really must get going."

He sighed and started pouting. "Fine, run off to your friends."

I rolled my eyes. "Is it alright if I come back tonight?"

He pretended to contemplate it for a few seconds. "I suppose, if you must," he told me in a resigned tone, before smirking.

I have him one last quick kiss. "I'll see you later," I told him before teleporting back to my bed. As soon as I felt the comfort of my own bedding I heard a gasp. I looked over to see Hermione staring straight at me. There could be no mistaken, she just saw me teleport in a castle where it should be completely impossible. "Hermione, listen to me," I told her moving towards her and trying to convey calm.

"You just…but it's impossible. What are you?" she stammered, backing away towards the door.

"Hermione, stop. You have to listen to me. I'll explain, but you can't tell anyone." She wasn't listening to me, and made to run for it. I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed her and teleported to Uncle Albus's office.

We landed unceremoniously, falling across his floor. I sprang up to my feet immediately, just seconds before she did. She drew her wand, and I couldn't help but chuckle at how long it took her to do so. She would never have lasted in a battle if I meant to do her harm. She opened her mouth to cast a spell at me, but before the words could leave her mouth, her wand shot out of her hand and Uncle Albus caught it easily.

"Now what do we have here?" he asked with a sparkle in his eye, but I could sense his concern.

"She…she apparated…in the dorm room!" Hermione stuttered, almost hyperventilating.

Uncle Albus turned his wizened gaze to me. "Is this true, Ms. Wizidore?"

I winced at the use of my last name. Whenever he used it, it meant that I was in serious trouble. "Well technically, it wasn't apparition it was teleportation. You of course know of the subtle differences. But I guess that doesn't really change the situation does it?"

He looked at me intently over steepled fingers. _What happened?_ he sent.

I sighed. _I don't know. I went to Draco in my sleep again, and when I came back to my room this morning she saw me appear. I don't know what happened. I always close the curtains of my bed, and charm them so no one can get through. Maybe she took the charms down. She went completely mental, and wouldn't listen to me, so I brought her here before she could run off and tell the whole tower._

He nodded thoughtfully. "Ms, Granger, please have a seat." She did so timidly, casting anxious glances at me as if she thought I might attack right there. Uncle Albus must have been thinking the same thing. "I assure you, Ms. Wizidore means you no harm." He turned his glance to me once again. "I think it's about time we shared your story."

I gaped at him. "Are you sure? I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

He nodded. "There are exceptions to every rule, as you should very well know."

I chuckled and shook my head. _Mom is going to curse you into oblivion. _

There was a twinkle of amusement in his eye. _I do not doubt that. _ "If you would please fetch Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley? I think it would be best to share this with all three at one time." I nodded headed towards the door, but he stopped me. "You may take the faster way, just use discretion. I believe your room should be empty now. And please, don't scare the boys too much."

I nodded and teleported back to my room. I took a moment to relax a bit. It was going to be difficult to explain my story, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I was just glad that Uncle Albus would be by my side through it. I headed over to the boys tower and knocked on the door. Ron opened it looking surprised, since I never ventured to their side. I was relieved to find that only he and Harry were still in the room, and quickly explained that we needed to go to the headmaster's office.

They started to head for the steps but before they did I stopped them. "Want to see something really cool first?" They both shrugged and nodded. I grabbed their shoulders and teleported us back to Uncle Albus's office.

They looked around confused before their eyes fell on Dumbledore. "Good morning boys. Today, Marlene here is going to tell you a story."


	16. Marlene's Story

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Sixteen:** Marlene's Story

Uncle Albus conjured two more chairs for Ron and Harry. I sat in my chair, feeling four pairs of eyes on me: Ron and Harry's curious, Hermione's apprehensive, and Uncle Albus's amused. I was at a lost as to where to begin or what exactly to tell them. I spent most of my life trying to keep my story secret, but now Uncle Albus just expected me to tell everything. I paced back and forth for a few minutes before turning to Uncle Albus, "I have no idea where to begin."

His eyes twinkled, "Well Marlene, I have always found the beginning a good place to start."

I glared at him, "You want me to tell them everything?"

He nodded, "I think the full truth would be prudent. The main points at least. Don't worry, I'll guide you."

I laughed, "Have you even ever told the entire truth?"

"Occasionally," he told me with a twinkle in his eye.

I sighed and began my story. "I guess it all starts with a prophecy. A very long time ago, even before Professor Dumbledore's time, there was prophecy saying that a child would be born during a time of war. The child would have power greater than any ever seen in our world, and would lead the effort to end the reign of darkness and herald in her own."

"You are that child," Harry whispered. I nodded. "How can you be sure it's you?"

"There were a lot of signs. The child was to be born on the summer solstice, and was to be part of a pair."

"You are a twin?" Ron asked.

"I was. My sister died when we were young."

"You know for sure that you are the one?" Hermione asked, sounding skeptical.

"All of the signs point to it being her. Most prophecies are self fulfilling if people know of them. Marlene knows of the prophecy and we have convinced her that she is the child, so whether or not she is, her actions will fulfill it," Dumbledore answered for me.

"What does it mean that she will 'herald her own reign'? Will she be the next dark lord?" she asked, her suspicions of me growing even more.

Dumbledore and I exchanged a look. "The exact wording isn't very clear. It is believed that she will choose her own path. She may become a dark lord with a hundred times the power of Voldemort, or she can lead us to the greatest time of peace our kind has known. She has been raised to hold the beliefs of the Light and has been taught tolerance of others, but ultimately it is her own choice what she does with her power."

They all looked at me in awe. "What about your relationship with Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Draco and I have different beliefs. I honestly don't think he is truly evil, but he has seen too much darkness to be willing to fight it. We know that there may come a day where we will have to face each other on the battle field, and we are resigned to that."

"Does Voldemort know about you?" Hermione asked.

"He did know, but as far as our sources have been able to tell, he thinks that I am dead." I answered. They looked confused, so I continued. "The prophecy has been around for so long, it has become more of a legend. It wasn't very specific about the time frame, so no one knows what war the child was to be born in. Very few people believe that it is true or that a person could really hold that much power without self destructing. They think that it is nothing but an old tale to keep morale alive. I don't know if Voldemort believed in it or not, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He started killing all sets of twins born on June 21.

"My family has always been kind of sheltered from most of the rest of the world, so it took him awhile to find out that my sister and I were born on that day. We were about five when he found out about us. When he came for us, we were supposed to be at my aunt and uncle's house for a little family gathering. I was sick though, so Uncle Albus here was taking care of me, and my sister was at the party.

"My sister and I are metamorphmaguses. When we were little we liked to imitate our cousins our age to make them mad. When the death eaters attacked, she was imitating a cousin. They saw two identical little girls and killed them both."

A silence fell over the room. "That had to be difficult," Harry said softly.

I shrugged, "I was too young to really understand what happened. I just remember asking everyone when she was coming home and my parents being sad and crying all the time. I did miss her a lot though."

Another silence fell, and I could feel the questions swimming around in their minds, but they were all too nervous to ask them. It was finally Ron who broke the silence, "Are you really a metemorphmagus?"

I nodded and began morphing different parts of my body. "This is my true form though," I told them returning to my previous state.

"What other powers do you have?" Harry asked with a grin.

I shook my head and laughed. "You've been waiting to find out since the train, haven't you?"

He nodded and Hermione looked outraged. "You knew she had powers?"

I intervened before Harry could explain. "I'm a telepath. When I shook Harry's hand on the train, I accidently entered his mind and trigged a memory."

"And it didn't cross your mind to tell someone that she was in your mind?" Hermione scolded.

"I made him promise that he wouldn't. I didn't want anyone to know that there was anything different than me. The most I could let people think was that I was just exceptionally bright, which fit in well with my having to transfer from school to school," I sighed. "I lied to you when we met. I told you that my family moved around because of my parents' jobs. My parents are researchers and they do specialize in Ancient Runes, but we move because of me. I don't always have the best control over my powers, and whenever it seems like people start noticing that I might be more powerful than normal, we move in case someone finds out. There are other evil wizards out there besides Voldemort, and all they need is the right leverage to gain power. My parents were scared when I was younger that someone would try to kidnap me and corrupt me if they found out. I had all kinds of tutors and mentors that were friends of the family for what seems like forever, like Dumbledore, who would come and try to teach me control over my powers, but we don't know how strong my powers will grow, or even if they will stop growing. I find myself being able to do things all of the time, and there really isn't anyone around to help me understand them, so it's a learn as I go kind of thing, which is pretty dangerous.

"As for my actual powers, I am a metemorphmagus, a telepath, I can sense magic, I am better at casting without a wand than with one, I don't even need to know spells, and I recently found out I can teleport."

"What's the difference between teleporting and apparition, and why can you do it in Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

"Apparition requires a spell, a set of movements, and a wand. Teleporting is the natural ability, just as telepathy is the natural ability of both Legilimency and Occlumency. The school is not warded against teleportation because it was believe impossible. It was nothing more than a muggle take on our magic. It seems as if Miss Wizidore likes to do the impossible," Dumbledore answered for me.

"So are you like some all powerful witch?" Ron asked, sounding amazed.

I laughed. "Not really. I mean I have a lot more power than the average witch or wizard, but I have a lot of weaknesses too. Like when I got here, the magic from the school overwhelmed me and made me extremely weak. It's also part of the reason I was unconscious in the hospital wing. I can be brought down by some stupid things, and I'm not immortal."

"That we know of," Dumbledore added with a twinkle.

I laughed. "I already almost died once, and I'd rather not push to see how far I can go before breaking."

Ron's eyes went large. "How did you almost die?"

"I tripped and fell into my aunt's pool and almost drowned," I told him.

He looked at me for a moment then turned to Harry, "That was a bit anticlimactic, wasn't it mate?"

Harry started laughing. "Yeah it was. Couldn't you just do the controlling water thing you do?" he asked.

"I could have, if I knew how to do it then."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"She can do this thing where she can control water. It's amazing," Harry told her.

I explained to her the manipulation and she just nodded. She still seemed hesitant to accept me. _She still doesn't trust me, _I sent Uncle Albus.

He studied her over steeped fingers. "I give you my word, Miss Granger, that Marlene means no harm to any of you."

I nodded, "I want to help in any way that I can. I'm teaching Harry everything that I can. I'm teaching him how to block his mind so that Voldemort can't use him anymore. I'm teaching him defense spells that he wouldn't learn anywhere on this side of the world. I know what kind of monster Voldemort is, and I know how much pain he has caused. I will never be like him. I believe that killing should be the very last resort, and would never purposely end the life of anyone unless it was necessary."

She studied me for a moment before speaking. "Ron and I swore that we would stick by Harry until the end. Maybe you should teach us too."

I smiled at her, "I'm sure that could be arranged."

Uncle Albus twinkled at us. "I hope that this settles some problems between you four. I'm sure you all can handle the rest of the questions on your own. Now, if I could speak to Harry and Marlene in private for a moment, please?"

Ron and Hermione nodded and left. Harry waited until he was sure they were gone before he spoke. "Well it looks like you and I are supposed to save the world together."

I chuckled. "Just because Voldemort keeps coming after you for some reason doesn't really mean that you have to be the one to kill him. Just stay alive."

He shook his head. "There was another prophecy. Either I have to kill him, or he has to kill me. 'Neither can live while the other survives.'"

I looked at him for a moment, then turned, outraged to Uncle Albus. "You knew, didn't you? That's why you have been pushing us together. Instead of just telling us that we weren't alone, you just throw us together and hope for the best, after letting us think we had to do it on our own."

He sighed. "Yes, I knew. I've been trying to get you to come here for years so that you and Harry could meet. I knew you two would get along well once you did, you are very much alike. I couldn't tell you before you met, because I couldn't bear to get your hopes up and then not be able to bring you together. I knew that you would be angry with me, Marlene, so I put this off. Please forgive me?"

I sighed. "Is there any part of our lives that you don't orchestrate? I mean did you organize me and Draco too?"

"Or my friendship with Ron and Hermione?" Harry put in, looking angry too.

Uncle Albus chuckled. "I assure you that those relationships were completely of your own accord and unexpected. I'm glad to see that they are working out though."

"Was there anything else?" I asked. I was frustrated with him, and knew that the longer I would be in the room with him, the more likely it was that an argument would ensue.

"I wanted to see how the training and D.A. was going."

"Harry has been making a lot of progress. He has his fundamental shields in place, so now we are just working on strengthening them. He's gotten pretty good at non verbal magic. I was thinking that the next couple of sessions we could have a few mock duels while teaching him a few more spells, and then move on to wandless magic. He wants to learn how to manipulate the elements, so I figured that it would be a good place to start," I told him.

His eyes twinkled, "Sounds like a good course of action. "Do you have anything to add, Harry?"

"The first D.A. meeting was yesterday. We did a review and then Marlene taught on non verbal magic. It went really well and everyone seemed to like her. I asked everyone to ask around to see if anyone else wanted to join. I figured more people would be willing since it's no longer illegal, and the more people prepared, the better."

Uncle Albus nodded. "You two seem to really be on track. I'll check in on you two later. For now, keep up with your classes, and study hard."

Harry and I made our way out of the office. When we made it downstairs, we found Hermione and Ron there waiting for us whispering. As soon as they saw us they fell silent, and I didn't have to be a genius to figure out they were talking about me. The four of us stood there looking at each other awkwardly for a moment, digesting all the information we gathered that morning before Ron broke the silence. "Do you read our minds all the time?"

I sighed. "I don't think this is a conversation we should be having in the open like this." They all agreed, with Ron looking a bit abashed, and we headed off to the Room of Requirement as they called it. We spent a few hours in there talking. I explained more about my powers and show showed them some of the stuff I could do. Ron for one loved my demonstrations and kept asking for more. Harry was pretty enthralled too. I could tell that Hermione found them fascinating, but was still a bit reserved with me. She couldn't help but to ask about some of the spells, and I was sure that I would soon be finding her practicing them in her spare time.

After awhile I looked at my watch and realized that I was a few minutes late for my lessons with Xavier. I told them that I had to go and I teleported from there straight to Xavier's office where he was sitting at his desk grading papers. "You're late," he told me without looking up with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I'm sorry," I told him collapsing in a chair.

He looked up at something he heard in my voice. "You look exhausted. What happened? You haven't been in the hospital wing again have you?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No. I just had a long morning. I kind of slipped up in front of Hermione, and Uncle Albus made me tell her, Ron, and Harry all about me."

He raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure that was a good idea?"

I shrugged. "Uncle Albus wanted me too. I trust him, even if he is a scheming old coot sometimes."

He chuckled. "Are you okay? I know that must have been hard for you."

"I'm fine, just kind of glad to get a break from the questions and requests for demonstrations. I felt like some kind of freak on display."

He studied me a few moments then put down his quill. "Let's take the day off. Go spend some time with that boyfriend of yours. You're being so overworked, I bet he's feeling neglected."

"My boyfriend?" I asked shocked. I hadn't said anything about me and Draco to him.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not oblivious. I know that you and Draco Malfoy or going out, or whatever you guys want to call it." He came around his desk and pulled me to my feet. "Now go, before I change my mind and give you double to work."

"Thanks Xavier," I said hugging him.

I let him go, but he placed his hand on my shoulders, holding me in place. "How much does Draco know about you?"

"Too much. He knows most of my powers, but not their strength."

He sighed, and his concern was apparent in his eyes. "I've heard about his father. Do you think it was wise to trust him?"

I bit my lip, feeling uneasy, almost as if I was about to get in trouble. "He made an Unbreakable Vow. He can't tell anyone anything about my past or my powers."

His eyes met mine and I started to get drawn into him. _So beautiful and strong. I don't know how she does it. She's seen so much for someone so young…_I turned away from him before I could hear more. "What's wrong?" he asked, unaware that I had accidently tapped into mind.

"How can you not know that you are doing that?" I asked.

"Doing what?" he asked genuinely confused.

I shook my head. "Never mind. I think I'll go find my boyfriend."

I wandered the castle in search of Draco, trying not to think of what I heard from Xavier. It really could have meant anything, and I didn't want to jump to conclusions about it. I was debating just casting a Disillusionment charm on myself and teleporting to Draco when I heard his voice up ahead and around a corner.

As I got closer, I heard a female voice join his and could hear their words. "Where have you been sneaking around to? We haven't been able to spend any time together," the girl said.

"I've been busy," he drawled.

"You haven't found someone else have you? I love you Draco," she said just as I came around the corner.


	17. Human Lie Detector

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Seventeen: **Human Lie Detector

Draco's eyes met mine, and widened for a moment before returning to the girl in front of him, who I recognized as being the pug faced girl that hung around him.

"Pansy, I already told you, we are over," he told her coldly.

"But why? I thought you loved me," she said, her voice cracking.

"Don't be a fool," he snapped. "I was only with you so that my father would get off my back. Well, he's not here anymore, so you and I are over."

I heard her stifle a sob, and although I had taken an instant dislike to the girl when I met her, I couldn't help but to feel sorry for her now. Draco was being extremely cruel. It didn't help that I was furious with him already for not telling me about this relationship he seemed to have had.

"But what about the Dark Lord?" she asked in a small pitiful voice.

"Let me worry about his intentions for me. You and I are through, and what I do is none of your business," he told her before heading my way. He grabbed my arm and led me to a deserted room. "What are you doing here?" he just about growled at me.

"I was walking around looking for you. What was that all about?" I asking, restraining myself from yelling.

"Were you spying on me?" he asked, his eyes flashing dangerously.

I rolled my eyes. "Draco, do you honestly think that if I was spying on you, you would have been able to catch me? And don't try to act all angry at me for stupid reasons. Now tell me what's going on."

He sighed, most of the hostility bleeding out of him as he turned away from me and sat on a desk, making sure not to look at me. "Pansy and I were together for awhile."

I felt my stomach drop. Though I gathered that much from what I heard, it was another thing to have him tell me straight out. "Awhile?"

"Since the end of fourth year," he murmured. I looked at him disbelievingly. "It's not what you think though."

"How is it not what I think? You had a girlfriend this entire time and you didn't even tell me. I asked you if there were any other girls and you told me no," I shouted feeling tears in my eyes.

"There aren't any other girls." He sighed, his expression unreadable. "I broke up with her."

"When?"

"While you were in the hospital wing."

"After you said I was your girlfriend?" I asked.

"Yes," he admitted reluctantly.

"So you lied to me. Am I supposed to just believe you now?"

He stood up and came to stand directly in front of me to command my attention entirely. "Listen to me. I know that I should have broken up with her when I saw you on the train. I didn't even think that I would ever see you again, let alone that I was going to react like that when I did. I didn't even know how long you were going to be here or if you were just going to disappear again. As soon as I saw you, I couldn't get you off my mind, and it was driving me crazy. I knew I had to end things with Pansy, but I kept pushing off. I promise you, nothing happened with her since I saw you on the train. My relationship with her was mostly just political anyways."

I turned my back to him and hugged myself. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather be with her?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Bloody hell," he grumbled before turning me around to face him with more force than was strictly necessary causing me to fall into him. "How could you even ask that? Look at what we've been through. I made the Unbreakable Vow for you. I risk my life for you every day by not sending word to the Dark Lord about you, and you are everything I am supposed to stand against. I suffered through my father for you. Do you think that I don't remember all of that? That it means nothing now?"

"I remember that too, but if it took you a week to decide which of us you wanted, then maybe you aren't sure."

"I didn't have to decide between you two. It was you. It's always been you. Ever since that summer it's been you, but I told you, I honestly thought that I would never see you again. Then you showed up completely out nowhere, and I expected it to be some kind of joke, or that you would leave again, and I didn't want to go through that again, so I put things off. I was going to do it that first day on the train, but I just couldn't. It was a stupid mistake." He looked me in the eye, and his beautiful gray eyes, darker now with his intensity, shone with sincerity. "I'd never try to hurt you."

I sat down on the desk and looked up at him. "So what are we supposed to do now?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment then took my hands in his and kissed them. "First of all, do you think you can forgive me?" he asked softly.

I looked at our hands for a long moment, his warm pale ones, holding my cool dark ones, and wondered if I could. The answer came quickly. "I forgive you," I told him softly.

Relief flooded his face and he moved to kiss me but I turned my face away. He sighed, "So what else is there?"

"I need to be able to trust you Draco. When we are alone, it's like you are a completely different person than you are with your friends. Then it's like an even different person when you are with Harry and his friends. I don't know how I'm supposed to trust you when I don't even know who you really are."

He nodded. "I know," he said before he got lost in thought. Finally he said, "Check to see if I'm lying."

I looked at him stunned. "You mean you want me to…" I trailed off unbelieving. He was giving me an open invitation to raid his mind to find his true intentions. It was a remarkable act of trust on his part. By going through his mind, I'd see through every thought and intention he had. There was no way he could lie or alter anything's meaning. And by letting me that far in he was trusting me not to push through and raid his mind for every other thought he's had, including the other secrets he's been keeping from me.

"Yes. You'll never be sure any other way," he told me lacing our fingers together. "Go ahead."

"Concentrate only on the memories so I won't see anything else by accident," I told him. I took a deep breath and dove into his mind. My mind was flooded with visions from him. I could see, hear, and feel everything from his perspective, even his emotions. For those moments, I was him in nearly every sense.

_I recognize her and am flooded with memories of our summer together as my heart starts to race. I reach out for her, but she helps me cover my lapse smoothly. I study her as we trade insults, hardly daring to believe that it's really her, but wanting it to be so much…_

_We are alone in a compartment. Alone after what feels like a lifetime apart. I slide my arms around her, and I feel unexpected relief at being able to touch her, of knowing she's real, and really here. I kiss her and my body reacts traitorously. I pull away before she can notice…_

_Pansy sees me and wraps her arms around me. Disgusted by her mere touch I push her away. She looks confused and I open my mouth to tell her it's over, but I'm flooded with doubt. Marlene just disappeared without warning before. What is to stop her from doing it again? I tell Pansy that I'm just not in the mood…_

_I'm sitting in the Great Hall and Pansy is trying to get my attention. I open my mouth to answer her but then I see Marlene laugh at something Potter and his friends say, and how he looks at her as if she the most magnificent creature on Earth. I am filled with rage that he dares to even look at MY girlfriend, let alone talk to her as if she was just anyone, but I can't help but to wonder if she would be better off with him, safer with the savior of the wizarding world than with a son of a Death Eater…_

_I'm lying in my bed, and she is in my arms, asleep. It feels more right than anything has for a long time. I can forget all my problems, and I don't have to pretend anything. All that matters is that she's here, and she's mine…_

_I'm kissing her and her body fits perfectly against mine. She's so responsive and so alive, so unlike Pansy. She moves against me and I want her so badly…_

Dozens of his memories from the last couple of weeks flooded my mind, each distinct and sharp. Some of them were of me and him, others were of him watching me with Harry and his friends, and yet others were of him and Pansy. The whole ordeal only lasted seconds but it left me panting with its intensity. I was overwhelmed by his emotions from his memories, and we were still connected enough that I could sense what he was feeling now: hope, worry, and lust, as he studied my flushed face, wide eyes, and heaving chest as I tried to calm myself. Before I could even think of what I was doing, our lips were pressed together. It was desperate and needy with lips and hands everywhere, grasping and fondling and pressing and kissing, with absolutely or plan or purpose, just needing the comfort of contact.

I finally tore myself away from him, trying to regain my composure. "I have to go," I told him breathlessly. His mind was still so entwined in mine that I couldn't really sure of what I was feeling and I had to get away before I made a big mistake.

I turned to walk away but he stopped me. "Wait," he said, the question written closely in his eyes: Did I trust him now?

I gave him a light kiss, and when he tried to pull me closer I slipped away. "We'll talk later. I'm kind of overwhelmed right now, and I just need to process everything," I told him before leaving the room before he could stop me.

I navigated my way through a few corridors before I sat down, trying to gather myself. I didn't want to be alone because I knew that being around other would force control that I wouldn't otherwise be able to achieve. I normally would have gone to Xavier, but I wasn't sure what to make of what happened earlier when I reached into his mind accidently. Dumbledore would have been my next choice, but I wasn't in the mood for his riddles and puzzles. Harry and his friends wouldn't understand, and would probably want me to explain more about myself. There was only one other person who came to mind.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them I was sitting outside of a mahogany door. I stood up and hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was going to be just a stupid idea, before knocking. It was only a minute or two before the door opened and Severus regarded me suspiciously. "Miss Wizidore, I don't believe it's Tuesday," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "You would be correct, it is Saturday."

He pretended to think that over for a moment. "I don't remember giving you detention either."

"Again, you would be correct. You didn't."

He looked at me critically for a moment. "You haven't been taking your potions have you?"

"I have but it's been an abnormally stressful day. All my mental barriers are shot, and I think my magical ones may be weak too."

He sighed resignedly. "Come in," he told me, moving out of the doorway. "Sit down and don't touch anything," he told me before disappearing though a door. I sat on a plush leather sofa in front of the fire place and looked around. There were two matching armchairs situation at either end of the couch, and a coffee table with a chess board, a goblet of mead, and a book on it, centered between all three. The stone walls were covered with bookshelves that were filled with worn volumes and jars of who knows what. The flickering from the fire threw shadows across the room adding a sense of mystery to the cold distant room, which seemed to fit its occupant perfectly.

Severus returned a few minutes later and held a goblet out to me. I eyed it suspiciously as I took it. "What is this?" I asked.

"It's an elixir I created. It'll replenish your powers, and calm you so you'll stop leaking magic everywhere."

I looked down at myself and realized that I see the magic radiating off of me, and the air crackling around me. I drank his elixir, grimacing at its bitter taste. "Do all potions taste horrible, or just the ones you make?" I asked.

"They aren't meant to taste good, they are meant to work. If you want something tasty go get some butterbeer. Is there anything else you needed?" he asked coldly.

"I didn't come here for potions."

He faltered for a moment. "Then what do you need?"

I glared at him. "I don't _need_ anything. I just thought I'd come to visit you," I told him stretching the truth a bit. I had honestly thought about paying him a visit lately to find out why he had been acting so strange, but I just hadn't found the time to do so yet.

He sighed tiredly. "We aren't friends."

I chuckled. "I don't think anyone could make that mistake. I think we do this whole mutual dislike thing just right."

He sat down in one of the chairs and shook his head. "You are a thorn in my side. I thought I finally got rid of you all those years ago, and yet here you are again."

"Stop, you're making me blush," I said in a flat tone, making him smirk. "Are you really that mad at me for freaking out when I found out you were a Death Eater?"

He had been as relaxed as he had ever been in my company, but at that mention of the incident he suddenly straightened. "I'm not mad," he said coldly.

"You don't try to embarrass me in class anymore. You pretty much ignore me."

He smirked, "So you think I'm angry with you because I don't give you a hard time anymore? Your logic is atrocious. I thought it would be a relief to not have to deal with my sunny disposition distracting you from your studies."

"You are trying to make it seem like you are doing me a favor, and we both know you wouldn't do that, at least not a favor that would include you refraining from criticizing my every fault. You enjoy our little battles. They make things interesting. Usually you like to take your anger out on people, but you haven't even been doing that in class lately. You've been much more tolerable. Everyone has noticed. Most of the Gryffindor think you just finally got snogged."

"That is absurd, and my love life is of no business of any student," he remarked drinking from his goblet.

"Harry said you acted like this last year when he really pissed you off. What did he do?"

He froze for a moment, and he became completely unreadable. "He didn't tell you what happened?"

I shook my head. "Ron and Hermione don't know either."

He thought about that for a moment and then sighed. "I was training Potter in Occlumency, and one day I was late for our lesson, and he found my Pensieve. He decided to visit some of my memories from my younger years."

I stared at him for a moment, realizing finally why he was acting so strange. It caught me so off guard that I started laughing. "You aren't angry, you are embarrassed!"

He glared at me. "What are you talking about?"

"You never get so angry that you'll ignore someone. You like to punish people and make them as miserable as possible, especially if you are in a superior position. You were the one that taught me how to control my telepathy so I wouldn't be always invading people's minds, but I still got into your mind for awhile before I could control it. I know what your younger years were like. You were so quiet during those times of our lessons. I can't believe I forgot it. You are embarrassed of what you were like when you were younger and how you were treated. And you're embarrassed of being a Death Eater, or of me knowing that you were one. Why?" I was thrilled to have figured it out.

"You think you are so smart, don't you?" he asked, almost slamming his goblet on the table, causing the chess pieces to tremble.

I just stared at him nonplussed. "If that's not it, then what is it?"

He gave me his deadliest glare, and I just stared at him. Finally he sighed and seemed to deflate a bit. "You aren't afraid of me, are you?"

I laughed. "No, should I be?"

"Many people are when the find out what I was. They realize all of the things that I must have done and seen. How evil of a person I had to have been. They never look at me the same way," he said softly.

I was amazed. Severus was actually expressing insecurities. It was something that I never thought was possible. He always seemed so sure of himself, basking in his persona of being an evil heartless bastard. I sighed and tried to reason with him. "I know I over reacted before when I realized. I'm sorry. I just thought someone would have told me, and I was surprised I hadn't picked up on it before. It doesn't really matter though. I always knew you were into Dark Arts, and you I've always thought you were a bit evil, but you're still the same despicable person you were before, that I know and love. It's not like I'm going to start cowering in fear from you or anything."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "_Love?_" he spat out.

I laughed. "You know we have this whole love/hate relationship thing going on. You absolutely hate me, but you were just taking care of me a few minutes ago."

"That was me doing my job. Don't confuse that with an act of affection," he replied coolly.

"Oh, Severus, you forget that I can be a human lie detector when I choose. Do you really want me to test the validity of that statement?" I asked with a smirk.

He grumbled to himself a bit as he picked up his goblet once more. "What were you all bent out of shape for when you got here anyways?" he asked.

I smiled to myself, sensing that things were going to be getting back to normal with us. I conjured a blanket and a butterbeer to chase away the chill in his quarters before settling in to tell him the tale.


	18. Magic

**A Final Chance**

**Chapter 18: Magic**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from the books or movies.

"I think his girlfriend broke up with him," Ron said as we left Defense Against the Dark Arts on Monday.

Harry nodded in agreement. "So much for having a tolerable Snape. I can't believe how much homework he gave us. Is he making up for giving us only a fair amount before?"

"Do you think we can find his girlfriend and convince her to take him back?" Ron asked.

"How would we find her? Besides what would we say to get her back? 'We know he's a greasy unbearable git, but at least he can terrify everyone so you'll never be bothered again?'" Harry asked

Ron sighed. "I suppose you're right. Well, we can't really blame the girlfriend. I mean something must have been wrong with her in the first place to snog something that greasy and unpleasant. Maybe she just finally came to her senses."

"Or maybe he slipped her a potion and its effects finally wore off," Harry added in.

I couldn't stop my laughter. "He's not that bad. He doesn't need a potion to get a girlfriend."

Ron stared at me in shock. "Blimey! It was you! You were snogging him!"

Hermione hit him in the shoulder with the book she was carrying. "Don't be ridiculous Ron. She has a boyfriend, and it isn't Snape."

Ron still looked at me suspiciously. "I think you are behind it. You are way too chummy with him." Despite his hatred of Snape, I could still sense the playfulness in him. While he really did suspect me of being behind Snape's old attitude, he wasn't really angry with me for it.

"I am," I told him apologetically.

Harry shook his head. "What did you do?" he asked in a tone implying that he would rather not know. I caught a glimpse of his thoughts and got an image of me snogging Severus. I grimaced. That was definitely something I could have gone my entire life without seeing or even crossing my mind.

I sighed. "In one of our lessons there was an incident and he was a bit…upset I guess for lack of a better word. That's why he was so tolerable. He'd rather just ignore me than risk a repeat of the incident, especially in front of a group of people he enjoys to terrify on a regular basis. There is nothing worse than having either a subordinate or an enemy witness you in a moment of weakness. It lessens their opinion of you. I talked to him though and I guess I made him feel better since he's back to his miserable old self.

"What did you say to him?" Ron asked.

"I told him that I'll always despise him."

Ron gawked at me for a moment and then shook his head. "Mental that one."

I laughed, "Trust me Ron, you have no idea."

"How did you manage to say something like that without getting a month's worth of detentions? Anyone else would get detention just for looking at him the wrong way." Harry asked.

"Severus and I have a complicated relationship."

"How are you so caught up with the Slytherins anyways? You already told us about Malfoy, but you seem to have some kind of draw to them," Hermione said. She had been a lot more accepting of me since she learned the truth, but she still questioned me, not that I could really blame her. I mean I only talked to a few people and of those, one had the Dark Mark, and one seemed well on his way to getting one too. If I was anyone else looking at me, I'd take everything I said and did with a grain of salt.

"Draco and Severus are the only Slytherins I know. Severus was one of my mentors for a few years. We drove each other crazy and finally Uncle Albus let us stop working together so that we wouldn't kill each other in our little duels that so often happened," I told them with a smile, remembering some of the better arguments. "My parents didn't go to Hogwarts, so this whole house rivalry is kind of new to me. I didn't know that Severus and Draco were Slytherins when I met them, though that wouldn't have really mattered to me anyways."

"Did Professor Jamison come to Hogwarts when he was in school?" Hermione asked softly.

I suppressed my smile, recalling the little crush she had on him. "He never attended a formal school. He was home trained. He finished all his coursework and testing by the time he was 15 when he became a certified fully trained wizard. He's only a couple of years older than us, but he's already a Potions Master. That's why he was allowed to come teach here. He was teaching people on an individual basis for awhile. That's how I met him."

We entered the common room and Ron noticed a new posting on the notice board. "Hey this weekend is Hogsmeade."

They all seemed very excited by this news and started talking over each other planning. "What's Hogsmeade?" I asked.

"It's the Wizarding village across the lake. It's actually where we get off the train. Third year and up are allowed to go visit some weekends," Hermione answered.

"Are you coming with us? Or are you going with Malfoy?" Harry asked.

I shrugged. "I just heard about it now. I'll probably tag along with you guys if you don't mind. He'll probably want to be with his friends, and since we are trying to keep our relationship low key, it might not be a good idea for us to go together."

"How are you managing to keep your relationship off the radar? It's impossible for this school to keep a secret," Ron said.

I grinned at them. "The only people who know besides me and Draco are you three and some of the Professors. I assume you guys haven't told anyone, and the professors have no need to spread the news to the student grapevine. Every time we meet, it's in private, and we don't even need to talk out loud to communicate. Besides, I'd be able to sense when someone was near. "

"Actually after that incident in Defense Against the Dark Arts with Snape and Malfoy running to your rescue there has been some talk about something going on between you two. There is a rumor going around about him breaking up with Parkison for another girl too," Hermione supplied.

I felt myself flush. I had forgotten all about that day in class when I made Severus so angry. It looked like I was starting to get a bit too confident. "Well I guess that's all the more reason for us to lay low."

"How'd you hear those rumors?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Girls talk."

Ron eyed her suspiciously. "What do they say about me or Harry?"

Hermione flushed. "I'm not going to sit around spreading gossip. Honestly Ron, you would think that after dealing with Harry in the tabloids you wouldn't really care what other people are spouting on about since most of it isn't true," she told him angrily.

Ron grinned, "So the girls are talking about me?"

"Are you ever going to make it public?" Harry asked me, ignoring the other two's squabbling.

"I doubt it. He's too high profile. Anyone he's with would draw attention, which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Add to that his association with Death Eaters and Death Eater children, and that I'm in Gryffindor, and we'll just be asking for trouble," I said pulling out my homework hoping to end this conversation.

"I'd hate to have to hide my relationship from the world," Hermione responded thoughtfully.

I shrugged. "If it comes down to being with someone you care about and hiding it or not being with them at all, I'd rather just hide it. It might be a pain sometimes, but at least we're together." I told her.

Hermione followed my lead and started working on homework while Harry and Ron decided to chatter away about one nonsensical thing or another. I knew that we had quite a bit of work to get done for classes, so I decided to give Harry a bit of motivation to start. "Harry," I called looking up from my book. "I was thinking that if we got most of our homework done this morning, maybe we'd be able to start working on the element manipulation this afternoon."

His eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked, not bothering to mask his enthusiasm.

"Sure, it's the perfect segue into the next lesson," I told him trying to fight a grin at his excitement.

He grabbed his books and starting working immediately while Ron looked at him incredulously. A minute later he stopped and looked up at me. "You are evil. You are doing this just to get me to do my homework, aren't you?"

I smirked at him. "Well if I can get two things done with one task, why not? I mean if you don't want to learn the manipulation, that's fine with me, we can just practice transfiguring rocks into bunnies instead."

"I'm doing my work," he grumbled while Hermione shot me a pleased grin.

*****

"Why do we always train outside?" Harry asked as we made our way to our normal practice area near the lake under the tree.

"I love nature," I told him opening my arms wide as if to embrace nature. "It's so much more relaxing to be outside. You can feel the sun beating down on you, the breeze on your skin, the smell of the earth. It's all just an amazing and freeing feeling."

He grinned at me. "I guess nature can be pretty nice."

I smiled at him. "I guess I just don't like being cooped up. Buildings accumulate the magic that is used in them. It can be overwhelming, even suffocating sometimes. Outside though, everything just goes back to the earth and becomes pure again. It's so much calmer and freer than being inside. When you start to learn to harness the magic of the earth, it just gets better from there. I guess being outside is essential to my mental health. You don't want to be around me when I've been cooped up for too long. Especially not in a castle as magically concentrated as Hogwarts," I told him with a grin.

"Is it hard for you? Controlling your magic I mean." He asked.

I shrugged. "I'm used to it now. Besides it can be really dangerous and scary when I really lose control." I stretched a bit preparing myself for another session of explaining and concentrating. "Ready to get started?" I asked. He nodded and remained silent. I paused for a moment trying to figure out the best place for me to begin. "You went to a muggle school before coming here right?"

He looked taken back. "Erm, yeah."

"Did you ever study energy in your science class?"

I watched him struggle to recall the word. "A little bit. I don't remember much about what we learned. I only remember that it can't be created or destroyed. They made it sound like some kind of cycle."

I nodded. "That's one of the basic principles. There are a bunch of different forms of energy, but it never goes away. It only changes from one form to another. Well magic is one of the forms of energy. Everyone has it in them, but only witches and wizards are adept at controlling and manipulating it. Did you ever do accidental magic when you were a child?"

A slight grin stretched his lips. "A couple of times."

"When you are little you don't really have a way to control or use that energy so it builds up in you and escapes when it can, usually during an emotional outburst for most people. What a wand actually does is focus the energy so you can use it to perform a task, such as a spell or a charm. What we're going to do is teach you how to channel that energy without a wand." I held my hands out, palms facing him and slowly moved around his body without actually touching him.

"What are you doing?" he asked nervously.

I couldn't help the grin that crossed my face. "I'm trying to determine where you store your magic. Most of us store most of our magic in one or two places. It explains why you are better at some forms of magic than others." I finished my scan and rolled my eyes at how obvious his results were. "You for example store your magic in your chest. It goes to show that you are more powerful when you use your emotions when you cast, and why in all the stories you've told me, you run straight into danger without thinking. You are open with your emotions, and that's what makes you such a powerful wizard. Those whose magic concentrates in their chests tend to be among the strongest like you and Uncle Albus. If it's in the mind, then they are usually the smartest. If it's in the eyes, they are great Seers, and ect."

He rolled his eyes. "I should have been a girl. It seems like emotions are the key to my life. It was my mother's love that saved me."

I shrugged. "Emotions are very powerful and people seem to over look them. There is a whole slew of spells that many people have so much trouble with and can't even perform because they don't have the capability to let their emotions fuel them in the way they need."

"Where do you store your magic?" he asked.

"Mine is more uniformly dispersed. There aren't really any concentration points. I don't really have any natural talents or personality quirks that power my magic. I just have a large concentration of raw energy. I had to train to excel in everything I do. The raw energy is what gave me all the extra gifts. With it being so uniformly dispersed, it's easier for me to control and manipulate, which is why I don't have to use spells or wands most of the time. It's just raw magic."

"I wonder where Voldemort stores his," Harry said thoughtfully.

I stared at him for a moment. "You know Harry, if we find that out, we just might have a better chance at defeating him." We both fell into a silence, thinking about Voldemort and how we could rid the world of him before I snapped us back into reality. "So like learning most things, the key is to concentrate."

*****

"Are you ok Marlene?" Xavier asked. I had been sitting at his desk looking over some papers from the younger years while he lectured my Potions class on their latest assignment. Well I was supposed to be looking over the papers, but I got caught up day dreaming and didn't even notice when Xavier stopped lecturing and perched on his desk right next to me. He was looking at me with such concern that I felt guilty.

"I'm fine. What do you want me to do?"

Xavier has always been a pretty tactile person so I didn't think anything of it when he brushed some stray strands of hair out of my face and put his hands on my shoulders until I felt a flare of jealousy from somewhere in the room. I glanced around the room and saw Draco glaring at Xavier as if he wished his eyes could drill holes into his head and strike him dead right there. "You seem really tired and distracted lately. Is all the work getting to be too much for you?"

I shook my head. "It's not the work that's getting to me, it's the drama. I'm not used to having to deal with friends and a boyfriend. All I had to worry about before was doing my work and staying off the radar, but now all of this emotional stuff is pretty draining. I'm just finally getting a taste of what it's like to be a regular teenager." At that moment Draco's jealousy and anger was giving me a headache. For a person who could be fairly adept at hiding his thoughts and emotions, he was equally adept at broadcasting them when he saw fit. Right now he seemed to have no desire to try to hide his feelings and ever since he let me into his mind, I seemed to be able to pick up on his thoughts and emotions even easier than before which seemed to amplify them tenfold. _Draco, calm down. You are giving me a headache. Xavier is just a friend._

_I don't like people touching what's mine._

_I'm not a piece of meat, _I just about growled at him.

Xavier must have been talking to me but I got so caught up in my little argument with Draco that I didn't have any idea of what he was saying. He noticed me glaring at the room, and turned to see what was making me so angry. His gaze fell on Draco who was still glaring at him. He turned back to me dropping his hands from me and flushing. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"It's fine. It's not like you are even doing anything. He just needs to get over it," I told him.

"Even still, I am your professor now, and it is inappropriate."

"You are my friend too," I argued.

"Not in the classroom. We must act with the appropriate decorum."

I sighed. "You are right." I shook my head, pushing thoughts and tantrums from Draco to the back of my mind trying to concentrate on my current duty. The deal was that I would get private advance lessons if I helped Xavier with his classes, and dealing with Draco's insecurities was definitely not helping Xavier in any way. "I'm sorry, what were you saying before? I got a bit distracted."

"I said maybe you should thinking about Joining the regular class and cancelling extra lessons if you are getting so stressed out."

"No, my lessons are more important than this drama. I'll be okay, I just have to focus more."

He looked skeptical. "You know you do deserve to have a life outside of learning and training don't you? You aren't just some fighting machine, you are a girl."

"I have to do what I have to do to help everyone survive this war," I told him trying to fight the nagging feeling that maybe my uncle succeed in instilling some of his ideals in me.

"This isn't your war. At the end of it you might find that you survived, buy you aren't really living. Enjoy what you have while you can."

Something about his words started nagging at me. I knew they would help me discover something important, but I didn't feel like dwelling over it at the moment so I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind for the moment. "I appreciate your concern, but I really am fine. I assure you that I'm having fun with my friends, I just need to weather this out and things will calm down. I just need to find a better balance for everything, but I can do it. So what do you want me to do now?"

He sighed, "Just walk around and help me keep an eye on everyone. We don't want to have an explosion."

I spent the rest of the class trying to avoid Xavier's watchful gaze while preventing some from making disastrous mistakes with their potions and giving others helpful hints.

*****

"I hate that Jamison," Draco mumbled. We were sitting at the top of one of the towers laying in each other's arms after curfew. "Why is he always touching you? Is it really necessary?"

I elbowed him in the stomach. "Possessive much? Seriously Draco, you are the only guy I'm interested in," I told him twisting around in his arms to kiss him. "So stop with the jealousy act, it's getting out of control."

"Are you trying to say that if you saw a girl touching me, you wouldn't get angry?" he asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I trust you. Well, unless you want to give me another reason to suspect you of cheating," I said sitting up and glaring at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous," he told me pulling me back against his chest and wrapping his arms around me. "I will never give you a reason to have to search my mind again. That was decidedly uncomfortable. I don't really do that whole open and vulnerable thing."

"Good," I mumbled turning so that I could press my lips to his throat. "It wasn't very fun for me either. It's unnerving to see yourself from someone else's eyes. I didn't think it was possible to get turned on just be seeing yourself," I told him with a grin.

"You obviously haven't been me," he said in his most snobbish tone.

I turned around so that I could straddle his lab. "Maybe I should just leave you alone with a mirror then."

"Don't be silly, I can't kiss myself," he said with a grin before pressing his lips against mine. When breathing became a bit of an issue he pulled away. "There's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend," he told me, his voice a bit rough.

"I know."

"Come with me?" he asked.

The moon made his pale skin and hair shine ethereally and reflected off of his gray eyes which were wide and unguarded but filled with lust. He looked so beautiful that I almost agreed, but the rational side of my mind caught up to my hormonal side. "I can't Draco. There have been rumors about us being together. We can't risk being seen together especially not out at a place like Hogsmeade."

He sighed. "I know. Sometimes I wish we didn't have to hide us, that the whole world knew you were mine."

"I'm sorry," I told him kissing him on the nose and seeing a ghost of a smile flicker across his lips.

"At least we have nights together. Less chance of us being interrupted that ways," he said with an evil grin.

"I like the way you think," I told him pushing him backwards as I teleported us to his bed.

His eyes widened when his back hit the softness of his bed instead of the hard cold stone of the floor of the tower and I laid myself flush against him. "You know, I'm starting to like that," he said with a smirk.

"Shut up and kiss me," I told him. And he did.


	19. Hogsmeade

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

Disclaimer:I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

Chapter Nineteen: Hogsmeade

* * *

"Where are we going first?" Ron asked excitedly nearly hopping up and down in place.

"Let's just walk down the main street. We can go into whatever stores we find on the way. This way Marlene can get to know the town better," Hermione reasoned.

"Ok, but we are still going to Zonko's and Honeydukes right?" Ron asked.

She rolled her eyes, "Of course, Ron." He started grinning like a maniac.

"Zonko's is the best! Except for the twins' store of course," Ron told me.

"The twins?" I asked.

"Yeah, my twin older brothers opened up their own joke shop in Diagon Alley. They are genius. Never trust anything they give you though, they like to test out their products on unsuspecting friends and relatives," he explained.

I laughed, "Thanks for the warning." I looked to Harry who was being awfully quiet this morning. He was walking a bit away from the rest of us. I fell into step next to him and nudged him. "Are you alright?"

He looked at me startled, and his bright green eyes met mine for a moment before he turned away with a shy smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You are pretty quiet today."

"Yeah, just have a lot on my mind I guess. I'm fine though. Are you excited to be here?" he asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, are we going to be back before Christmas or should we do our shopping now?" I asked hoping I still had time to figure out what I wanted to get everyone. I didn't want to get too ahead of myself but it looked like this might be the first year I had actual friends to give gifts for. Sure I considered Severus and Xavier to be my friends, but it just wasn't the same.

He laughed, "We'll be back at least one more time. Besides you can always order stuff by owl." I sighed with relief and grabbed his arm and dragged him with me to catch up with Ron and Hermione, trying to infect him with all of our good cheers.

We visited quite a few shops. In one I found a beautiful necklace with a silver dragon with green eyes on a black cord. It reminded me of Draco for some reason, so I bought it for him. I knew that it wasn't really his style and that he would much rather have expensive designer stuff, but I took the chance that he might like it.

We spent quite a bit of time at the candy and joke shops that Ron was talking about. I noticed that Harry was getting the most stuff and when I started making fun of it he looked embarrassed and pulled me away from the other two. "Ron's family isn't exactly…well off. And he's really sensitive about it. So whenever we come I try to overstock my supply and gradually pass some of it along to him so he won't feel like I'm trying to make him into some kind of charity case." He was even kind of blushing as he explained. He looked absolutely adorable.

"You're a good friend Harry. Ron's lucky to have you."

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "In the muggle world I don't have a penny to my name. I know what it's like. Ron is a good guy, and his family is too. It's just that there are so many of them, I guess and he's the youngest boy…" he trailed off as if suddenly ashamed of going into some of the details of Ron's family.

I nodded, "Let's stock up then. We can have a little party and get pumped up on sugar," I said trying to redirect the conversation away from more sensitive issues. He grinned at me and returned to grabbing things off the shelves.

After we finished filling bags of sweets and tricks, we started heading to a pub they called The Three Broomsticks. As we entered, I scanned the room for any kind of danger and froze. There was something in the room that was off, something that shouldn't be there. When I froze however, Harry who was right behind me ended up walking right into me and jarring me out of my concentration. "Everything ok?" he asked, putting a hand on my shoulder to balance me as I almost fell over from the impact.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I should have signaled or something," I told him with a grin as we followed after the other two and I scanned the room trying to figure out what was wrong that had threw me off. I couldn't put my finger on it so I just tried to push it to the back of my mind and remember to be on the lookout. It didn't long for danger to come to me though.

We were all about half way through our first butterbeer when a man in a dark cloak approached us. "Having a good time Marlene?" Uncle Damien asked removing his hood.

I glared at him feeling my defenses lock into place. "I thought I told you to stay away."

He chuckled, "Your mother was worried about you. She hasn't heard from you for awhile so she asked me to check in on you."

"You and I both know if that was really the case my mother would show up here and there wouldn't be a thing in this world that could stop her. If she was really that worried she would have sent me more owls or gotten in touch with Uncle Albus. She has never had a problem getting into contact with him when she needed him. You would be the last person she would have sent," I told him coolly.

"I happened to be in the neighborhood, and to be honest, your Uncle Albus as you call him is a bit of a flake. He does what he wants with no accord to other people. I really don't think your mother trusts him as much as you think."

"My mother trusts him with her life and with mine. He does what he has to and nothing he has ever done has harmed me. Don't you ever dare insult him. He's been more of an uncle to me than you ever have," I snarled at him.

"Well maybe I'm trying to change that my dearest niece. Aren't you even going to introduce me to your little friends? You are being quite rude you know," I looked at my friends, having for a moment forgotten that they were there. They were all looking at me, a bit nervous. I couldn't really blame them, I mean a complete stranger approached us and I was being quite hostile to him though it was obvious that I knew him.

"You don't need to know their names. You aren't going to be around long enough to get to know them either. Now tell me what you want and get out of here," I told him coolly.

He sighed as if he were being tormented. "Like I said I am trying to be a better uncle to you. I know I haven't been there for you when you needed me in the past, but I was thinking about what you said last time I saw you…"

"You mean when you broke into the castle and attacked me?" I interrupted. I felt my friends stiffen and even saw Harry's hand slide towards his wand.

Uncle Damien just glared at me for a moment before continuing, "…and you were right. I have been completely out of line. I want to be more involved in your life. I want to be your real uncle, a person you can come to with all of your teenage problems."

I shook my head and laughed bitterly. "You just think that if you get closer to me, you'll be able to use me as you see fit. It's not going to work. I will only tell you this one time. Stay away from me, and don't even think about going anywhere near my friends or Draco. I never told my mother about the incident in the castle, but you better bet that she will hear about it now."

His eyes blazed at the threat and his friendly façade came crashing down. I don't really know what hold my mother had over her brother, but I was sure going to use it and he knew that my threat wasn't an empty one. "Oh grow up," he snarled. "You just want to run to your mommy like some little girl. When are you going to learn how to deal with things on your own? Do you think there will always be someone to have your back? And what do you think your mother's going to do when she finds out that you are dating Draco Malfoy, the boy she explicitly told you never to talk to again?"

I rolled my eyes. "You tell me to grow up and then threaten me that you are going to tell my mom about my boyfriend? You can tell her, and I will take whatever punishment she gives me. She's the one looking out for my best interests, not you. And I know that no matter how much she might hate it and yell at me, she just wants me to be happy and will let me make my own decisions. You just want to make me into some kind of weapon that only you can control. She knows that better than I do."

I saw his hand twitch toward his wand for a moment, and I prepared myself for having to curse him, but after a moment or two, he seemed to calm down. "Well, if that is how you feel."

"It is," I told him clearly.

"I hope you will remember this the day that you need me."

I laughed again. "I won't need you Uncle Damien. The only things that you could help me with I have no interest in learning. I'd rather die than take that route."

His eyes flashed again, and he opened his mouth as if to retort before abruptly turning and leaving the pub. I sighed and slumped in my seat feeling extremely relieved that he was gone.

"What was that all about?" Harry asked, seeming to be the first to find his voice.

"That would be my charming Uncle Damien. He's my mother's brother and a right bastard."

"You two seem to have a rather, uh, explosive relationship," Hermione commented.

"What's with him attacking you in the castle? When did that happen?" Ron blurted.

I sighed. "When he found out what I really am, he kind of took it upon himself to take over my training. It soon became apparent that he wanted to make me into a weapon to serve his own purpose. Personally I think he was trying to become the next Voldemort. Anyways, my mother realized what he was up to and they had this huge row. My mother has always had some kind of hold over him, but I'm not quite sure what. She made him back down and leave. He was supposed to stay away from me, but somehow he got back in her good graces a few years ago. My mother still doesn't really trust him though, and he's supposed to stay away from my training, but he likes to butt in sometimes. A few weeks ago I was walking through the corridors, on my way to meet Draco, when he grabbed me and cornered me in an empty classroom basically."

"What did he want?" Harry asked.

"The same thing he wanted now. He's trying to get close to me again so maybe he can have some kind of hold over me. He'd put me under the Imperious curse if he could. I think his current method of getting to me is trying to act reformed, as if he trying to see me as an actual person."

Harry stared at me for a moment then shook his head, "Uncles," he murmured with disgust. I looked at him, surprised for a moment, thinking about what he had told me about his uncle before I started laughing. A slow grin spread across his face before he too started laughing. Soon Hermione and Ron joined in. We gathered looks from some of the other patrons of the pub, but none of seemed to care, since we were all enjoying ourselves immensely and glad to be rid of the tension that surrounded us just minutes ago.

* * *

"Ron and I are going to go down to the Quidditch pitch. Want to join us?" Harry asked when we got back to the common room. We decided to call it an early day from Hogsmeade and go back to the castle, but it was still early.

"Sure, let me just grab my broom," I told him, packing up my parchment and quill where I had been writing a letter to my parents.

I ran up to my room and grabbed my Nimbus 2001. It was a present from my parents along with a couple of other brooms I had stored away in my bottomless bag. They felt bad about pushing me so hard in training and having to move all the time, so they tended to spoil me with material things like my brooms and my art supplies.

When I came back down I saw Ron eyeing my broom with longing and when I saw his old broom, I was tempted to offer him one of my old ones, but I remembered what Harry said earlier and decided against it. I didn't want him to think I pitied him or something.

"Are you going to try out for the team?" Ron asked as we made our way down to the pitch. "Nah, I can't. I won't have time for one, and secondly, I would have a bit of advantage over the other players. And my mom would kill me if she found out."

Harry chuckled, "Do you fly a lot?"

I shrugged, "When I can. I'm a decent flyer."

"We'll see," he said with a grin as he took off running towards the pitch. I laughed and followed with Ron at my heels starting a race. Ron with his extremely long legs one, of course. As soon as we reached the pitch I hopped on my broom and took off, pushing my broom to its limits. I relished the feeling the wind blowing all around me and decided on doing my favorite trick, the one that always gave my parents a heart attack no matter that I had yet to ever get hurt doing it. I shot straight up into the sky, then let go of broom free falling. I spun and flipped in the air, letting gravity pull my closer and closer to the ground. I was just about to summon my broom to catch me when suddenly I was caught in someone's arms.

I turned my head to see a very scared looking Harry. "What are you doing?"

"Catching you. You fell," he told me, sounding dumbfounded.

I laughed, "That was very heroic of you, but I was in perfect control."

He looked dubious. "You were falling hundreds of feet through the air. How exactly, were you in complete control?"

"Let me go and you'll see," I told him with a grin.

He shook his head and his grasp on me tightened slightly, "I think you hit your head."

I sighed, "Would you just trust me?" He stared at me for a moment, before reluctantly loosening his grip on me. I slid off his broom falling quite a few more feet before I summoned my broom and caught a hold of the handle, swinging myself back onto it. "See? Easy as pie," I told him with a grin.

Ron caught up to him and was staring with his mouth agape. "That was blood brilliant!"

"What in Merlin's name made you decide to do that?" Harry asked, sounding a bit angry.

I shrugged, "The first time it was an accident. I really did fall, but I managed to accidently summon my broom. After a couple of times I was able to do it on purpose. I fell in love with the feeling of free falling. I see why some muggles jump out of planes." Ron looked confused so I explained, "A muggle contraption they use to fly. It looks like a giant metal bird kind of."

"Teach us how to do that," Harry exclaimed, his eyes bright.

I shook my head. "Not bloody likely. It's too dangerous, and you have to have mastered wandless magic anyways. You too will kill yourselves." They both began muttering but I just rolled my eyes at them. "So are we going to play or are you two just going to pout?" I asked, smiling mischievously at them.

* * *

"So did you have fun with Potter and friends?" Draco asked, sounding a bit bitter. We were making our way back up to the tower that we always snuck off too. It was becoming a bit of a ritual.

"It was okay. It got kind of dramatic, and I wish you were there."

"Dramatic?" he asked, his interest piqued. I could tell that he was hoping for some big blow out between me and Harry.

"You remember me telling you about my uncle Damien? Well he showed up," I told him as we settled in our usual positions on the floor. He wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled me a little bit.

"What did he do?"

I told him everything, from the conversation in the castle to the threat to tell my mother about my relationship with him. As I told him the story I could feel him start to tense up. "It's ok. I already took care of it."

"Are you sure? I'm sure I could pull some of my father's connections and get him taken care of," he just about growled.

"I'm positive. I have my own connections." I had finished my letter to my parents, letting them know about both incidents, and I even notified Uncle Albus. I was fully prepared to be summoned to his office within the next few days. "I got you a present," I told him, trying to change the subject.

"A present? Why would you do that?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"I just felt like it," I told him pulling the small box out of my robes. I fingered it for a moment before slipping out of his arms so I could turn to face him. I handed him the box and he stared at it for a moment before opening it. He took it out of the box and held it. "Do you like it?" I asked.

He just kept staring at it, with a blank expression not saying anything. I was starting to worry that he hated it and was about to start laughing or just throw it over the tower wall. Finally, he looked up at me and smiled. "It's perfect."

"Really? I know it's not your usual style, and you always say a necklace is kind of girly, but when I saw it I thought of you."

He shook his head. "Really, it's great. Thank you. I'm not really used to getting things from people, except from my parents at Christmas and my birthday," he told me almost shyly as he fastened the necklace around his neck. It was so uncharacteristic of him, and for some reason I just found it adorable.

"Probably because you are a big bully and take whatever you want. There is no need to give it to you."

He smirked regaining his usual personality Well his personality he used with me anyways. "You have a point. Once I have my eye on something, I don't stop until its mine." He pulled me roughly towards him to illustrate his point. Then he ruined his whole tough façade by kissed me softly. "I feel kind of bad that I didn't get you anything."

I shrugged, "I'm sure you can make it up to me somehow."

He gave me an evil grin, "Any suggestions how?"

I grinned back at him. "You're a smart guy. I'm sure you can figure something out."

"Wow a compliment and a present in the same day. It must be my birthday or something," he told me just before he figured out exactly how he could repay me.


	20. Mum and Dad

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Note:**I just want to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing. I completely suck at answering reviews but I do love them! Also for the record, Xavier Jamison is an original character. Sorry for any that might have confused. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 20:**Mum and Dad

"Thank you for joining us, Marlene," Uncle Albus told me as I entered his office Monday morning after breakfast. Just as I anticipated, I had received an owl at breakfast telling me to go to his office. I was a bit excited to see what my mother's response was be to her brother's actions, though I still couldn't help but to feel a bit nervous at the thought of her discovering my relationship with Draco.

Before I could make any response, my mother grabbed me and enveloped me into a hug. I was shocked to say the least. I thought Uncle Albus was merely going to tell me what my mother said, not that she would actually be there. "I can't breathe, Mum," I struggled to tell her. Her grip was so tight that it was beginning to choke off my air supply.

She loosened her grip just enough to let me breathe but didn't let me go completely. It was almost as if she thought I was going to disappear or something. "How are you? Are you okay? Why haven't you been writing?"

"Relax, Mum. You'd think that I've never gone away to school before with the way you're acting," I told her, taking a moment to scan the room. Dad was next to her, waiting for her to relinquish her hold on me. In the corner, Uncle Damien brooded, obviously trying to avoid getting into trouble. "I've been fine. This school is great, and I've made some friends too. I'm sorry I haven't been writing. I've just been really busy. You know Uncle Albus. He always has stuff for me to do."

She finally let go of me and glared at the headmaster. "What exactly have you been doing? I thought we had an agreement."

I raised my eyebrows at the two of them before my dad hugged me much more gently than Mum. "It's good to see you again, kid," he told me with a grin, his warm brown eyes shining down at me. He always was much more relaxed than my mother, and it was often his job to keep her in control.

"I have not broken our agreement Claire," Uncle Albus told my mother with that ever present twinkle in his eye. "She is doing the normal curriculum for her year, and I have asked her to tutor one other student. All of her other extra endeavors have been all of her own choice."

"What extra things are you doing exactly?" my mother asked, rounding on me.

"Technically, not all of them have been my own choice," I said, glaring at Uncle Albus. He was trying to avoid my mother's wrath just like Uncle Damien was. "He is making me take extra lessons with Severus once a week too. And he has me helping out with a club as well."

I watched as my mother's eyes widened and she turned back to the white haired man, who merely held up a hand in protest. "The lessons with Severus are a punishment for dueling with a professor in the middle of class and undermining his authority. As for you helping with the club, as I told you in the beginning of the year that is purely optional."

I rolled my eyes. "That's just merely semantics. And since when are you punishing people for undermining someone's authority? You are always going behind the ministry's back to do something. You forget that I heard of all the tales of Dumbledore even before I knew you were him. And how could I not get involved with the D.A. being as close to Harry as I am?"

His beard twitched as he tried to hide a smile. "I was merely stating that it was not a demand. You could simply walk away from that obligation if you wished to do so," he told me, that twinkle in his eye getting even brighter, "and I don't think that it would be a good idea for you to follow in my footsteps. I'm quite certain that one of me in this world is quite enough."

"Merlin knows we don't need another senile old coot," Uncle Damien muttered from his corner.

My mother's eyes blazed as she turned to him, "Watch your tongue," she warned him. His mouth snapped shut and he become completely still as if he feared that any movement might warrant an attack. My father put a hand on my mother's shoulder and she visibly relaxed. He shared with me the power to manipulate a person's energy to change their emotions and it came in handy with my mother's volatile temper. "So what other extra activities have you been involved in?" my father asked, curiously, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Well I spend most of my time helping my friends with homework, one in particular," I said avoiding using names after sending a short glance over to Uncle Damien who was looking on avidly. "I'm helping Xavier with his potions classes, and I'm taking more advanced lessons in my spare time."

"I hear there is a boy you've been involved with as well," my mother stated emotionlessly.

I sent a dark glare to Uncle Damien's corner before nodding morosely and dropping my eyes to the floor. "Draco Malfoy," I confirmed quietly, waiting for the onslaught of disapproval.

"I thought we told you that you shouldn't see him again," came the calm reply.

I looked up to see my father still hand his hand on my mother. I felt a sudden rush of appreciation for him. I knew that while he didn't approve of Draco, he wasn't so adamantly against him like my mother was, and he was keeping her from lashing out as she otherwise would have. "You did, but it wasn't as if I sought him out or anything. I mean he goes to school here and he's in nearly all of my classes. It would be quite difficult to avoid him."

"That doesn't mean that you have to go out of your way to spend more time with him than you have to," my father pointed out.

"Draco isn't a threat to me," I told them stubbornly.

"He can hurt you in ways that you would never expect," my mother told me.

I felt my face flush in anger. "I thought the whole reason you didn't want me to talk to him was because you thought he would sell me out to Voldemort. Well he can't. I made sure of that. So what other way could he hurt me."

"Every spell has its loop holes," Uncle Albus added sagely. "There are always ways to get around things if you know where exactly to look."

"He wouldn't be able to. There is no way that he could hide it from his thoughts. I'd know instantly if he was trying some kind of betrayal," I argued.

"He could be working against his own will. You might not be able to see that," Uncle Damien put it.

I hissed in his direction. "You would know all about controlling other people's will, wouldn't you?"

He winced at the accusation, but nodded. There was no point in him trying to deny it. He was caught on plenty of occasions studying obscure and most times very dangerous forms of magic. I knew much more about it than I wanted to from his stints at training me. His whole approach to a problem was to beat it in any way possible. He most definitely didn't believe in playing fair. "There are ways to control people, more complex than the Imperious Curse. They can be undetectable, maybe even to you. There aren't enough natural born telepaths in the world for that information to be known."

I groaned. "Uncle Albus wouldn't let him anywhere near me if he was a threat."

The aforementioned man nodded, "I do trust young Mister Malfoy. He is facing a very difficult situation at the moment, but I truly believe that he will pick the right path."

I looked at him with wide eyes. "You know what's been going?" I asked incredulously the same time my mother asked, "How do you know?"

"Yes I am aware of his present situation, though he did not tell me it. I found out through one of my many sources. I know that he will make the right decision when the time comes because he is a smart young man. He's been forced to live his life in his father's shadow, and he wants to show the world that he is different, but most people are not willing to give him that opportunity. I am, and I don't think he'll let me down. I believe that Marlene was one of the first to see his real potential and he knows that. His appreciation for her extends far past what most of you could ever imagine from a Malfoy."

"I don't trust him," my mother stated.

"I do," I responded defiantly.

She sighed. "I can't stop you from doing what you want, and I can't say that I'm happy with it, but you have to learn from your own mistakes. I can't protect you from everything. That doesn't mean that I have to like it."

I nodded before Uncle Albus changed the subjects. "Now I believe we are here to discuss your allegations against your uncle."

"My allegations? You don't believe me?" I asked shocked.

"It just seems very strange. The castle is warded so that no one can enter or leave the premises without my knowledge. If he came to the school as you claim he did, then I should have known about it."

I thought about it. It made sense about the wards. He probably had a bunch of them, letting him know what was going on around the school. It was no wonder it seemed like he knew everything that was going on. He let the students get away with a lot more than they could have ever imagined. It didn't explain though how Uncle Damien managed to get in. I knew he did, because I saw him, and I even felt him, so it couldn't have been some kind of illusion. I would have known if it were someone impersonated him. "I don't know how he managed it, but he did. I was walking through the hallway on my way to meet Draco when he grabbed me from behind a statue. He waited until the hall was clear and then dragged me into an empty room."

Everyone turned to Uncle Damien to hear his side of the story. "Now would I really be crazy enough to break into Hogwarts, where one of the greatest wizards who every existed resides?" he asked with a smirk.

I fumed. "You called Uncle Albus a flake! You just called me a crazy old coot a few minutes ago! You basically admitted it to my friends that you came to the castle."

"You have no proof," he told me with a level gaze.

Uncle Albus raised a hand and effectively cut off our arguing. "I believe you are telling the truth Marlene. The only question is how did you do it Damien? If you truly wish to help protect your niece as you said you do, then you should have no problem telling me so that I can resolve the problem. We wouldn't want someone else to be able to sneak in as you have."

Uncle Damien just glared knowing that he was caught. If he didn't tell how he managed to get in, he'd be in trouble, but by telling his secret, he wouldn't be able to do it again. "You said yourself that every spell has a loop hole."

"Ahhh, Dark Magic."

Uncle Damien rolled his eyes. "Don't be so archaic. Magic is neither dark nor light it's just how you use it." He began to go into the semantics of the spell and I was lost quickly. They began to discuss theory and practice which was far beyond my level of comprehension.

My parents and I finally sat down and waited for my two uncles to finish their discussion. I could feel my father's on me, but I didn't turn to look at him. I was too busy thinking about Draco. It bothered me to no end that Uncle Albus knew what was bothering him but I didn't. I was sure that I'd be able to help if only I were given the opportunity.

_Your mother isn't angry with you. She just wants what's best for you_, I heard my father's gentle voice say in my head, startling me out of my thoughts.

_I know. Uncle Albus seems to be the only other person to really trust him. I just wish she could trust my judgment of him_, I sent back.

_I trust you._ I looked over at him and saw a warm smile on his face.

I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face. His smiles were contagious. _Thanks Dad._

_ Are you happy here? Albus told me there were a few problems._

_ I am happy here. I've made some really good friends. I've gotten really close with Harry Potter. He really is a nice boy, and his friends are too. His friends didn't trust me that much at first, but Uncle Albus got them to come around._

_ He told us you were in the hospital wing at one point._

I felt the blush creep across my cheeks. _That was my own fault. He gave me potions so that the school wouldn't drain my magic, but I forgot to take them. I had a bit of an overload, but now I'm fine. _

He looked at me concernedly, but before he responded my mother just about yelled, "Oh will you two just quit. You are driving me nuts."

All four of us jumped. "Who are you talking to Mum?" I asked timidly, afraid that she might have noticed the silent exchange with my father and was now about to demand a recount of what was said. It always aggravated her when she noticed I was mentally communicating with people around her. She hated being kept out of the loop with anything.

"Albus and Damien. They already figured out the problem and now they are just arguing about pointless things. Can we get the wards fixed or not?"

There was a ghost of a smile on Uncle Albus' face as he tried to hide his amusement. "My sincerest apologies Claire. I know exactly how to solve the problem."

"Thank goodness. Now is that all the bad new and serious discussions?" I asked.

"There is just one more thing, though Damien is now free to go. You are to leave these grounds and not return unless you have a proper invitation." He glared at Uncle Albus and muttered to himself as he left the office. Uncle Albus turned is gaze to me, the amusement still apparent. "Now I believe I promised you that you would be allowed to be present when I notified your mother of this next bit of news."

It took me a few moments before I remember what he was talking about. When I did, I grinned sadistically at him. "Well carry on then."

My mother looked at him warily waiting for the news. "I made Marlene tell three students the truth about who she is. The entire truth."

My mother's eyes bulged and she quickly moved out of arm's reach from my father so that he couldn't calm her down. "Are you crazy? What were you thinking Albus? I thought we were all in agreement that we should keep it between as few people as possible. Why would you have her tell three teenagers none the less? How could you possibly think they could be trusted? The entire school will know in no time, and it will get to You-Know-Who." I rolled my eyes. I had spent enough time around Uncle Albus growing up that I never saw why people chose not to call Voldemort by his name. All the other phrases to refer to him merely got on my nerves.

"The three teenagers in question are quite possibly the only three teenagers today that would have any grasp of the position Marlene is in. They of all people know how to keep a secret."

"Oh really? And why is that?" my mother asked sarcastically.

"The three friends are Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley."

My mother finally fell silent and dropped back into her seat. She looked at me in shock. "So those are the three friends you mentioned."

I nodded. "Harry accepted me with no problem. Out of all of them, he was the one with the most reason to question me. There was an incident on the train that made him aware that I was a bit different than everyone else, but he trusted me. Ron trusted me pretty easily too, but Hermione didn't really like me. She could tell that there was something I was hiding, and it wasn't until Uncle Albus made me tell them about me that she finally accepted me."

"What incident?" my father asked curiously. I regaled them with the tale of my journey on the train. My father just shook his head. "You really should be more careful than that." I just blushed and nodded.

"Well I think it's about time Marlene heads to class. You are going be late if you don't leave soon," Uncle Albus told me, obviously a dismissal.

I stood up and was about to leave when something occurred to me. "So what about Uncle Damien?"

"I'll take care of him. You are not to see him alone. If he has to speak with you for any reason he will do so in the company in the company of me, your father, Albus, or Severus only. If he tries to approach your or contact you in any way that isn't through us, then I want you to tell me immediately," my mum told me.

I nodded. "What is he up to anyways?"

The three of them all exchanged an uneasy look. "I think that is a discussion for another day. Off to class with you now."

I hugged my parents farewell with a promise to write more before heading back to the Gryffindor common room.

____

"How did your meeting go?" Harry asked when I met up with him in the common room.

I shrugged. "It was fairly interesting. Did you know that Dumbledore knows exactly who enters and leaves the grounds?"

His eyes widened in shock. "Really?" I nodded at him. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "That means he knew that I snuck out third year to go to Hogsmeade. "

I laughed. "And here you thought that you were being sneaky. I have a feeling that he knows everything that goes on in this school. He just picks and chooses his battles to punish people." I thought about the fact that he knew that I spent the night in Draco's room more often than not. It was a strange feeling to know that someone knew everything that I was doing. It made me feel very unsettled.

"Do you think he knows all of the secret passageways in and out of the school?"

"Probably. He went to school here when he was young, and he was teaching here years before he became headmaster. I don't think there is much about this school that he doesn't know."

Harry looked thoughtful again for a few minutes as we gathered our things for class from where we scattered them around the common room. "Why do you think he lets us get away with so much then?"

"Well I think it would drive him nuts to make sure that every rule breaker was punished. We are just kids really, of course we are going to sneak out and do things we aren't supposed to do. I guess he's just letting us get it out of our system."

"But why would he let me leave the school grounds when he thought that Sirius was after me?" he muttered almost to himself.

I thought about it for a moment. He had along with Ron and Hermione caught me up on the story of Sirius Black. "He probably had some other way of watching out for you. He wouldn't have let you go otherwise."

He shrugged. "I don't think we should mention this to Ron or Hermione. Ron would be ecstatic and take this as permission to sneak out more, and Hermione would probably have a fit at Dumbledore's leniency."

I laughed. "I suppose your right. If people found out, he'd probably have to crack down on the rules some more."

____

"Just relax and concentrate," I told Harry. We were sitting in the Room of Requirement instead of outside like normal because of the rain that decided to plague the grounds. While normally I loved the rain, I had to admit that it wouldn't be the best circumstances to have a lesson in.

The room had created a comfortable living room style area for us. We were sitting on a couch together with a glass of water on the coffee table in front of us. He was staring at it so intently that his eyes were narrowed behind his glasses, his face was slightly contorted almost as if he were in pain and a thin shine of sweat covered his forehead. Every once in a while I could see the water in the glass start to quiver. He was so close to being able to manipulate it, that I could taste it.

"Try holding your hand out to it, to help you focus," I suggested, holding my own hand out to the glass to demonstrate.

He followed my instructions and after a few more minutes of concentration, the water slowly started to float out of the glass. As soon as the water was completely out of the confines of the glass floating in a glistening orb, Harry gasped, finally realizing that he managed to do it and that it wasn't just in his head. As soon as the gasp left his lips and his focus was loss, the water fell back down, splashing all over the table.

"You did it!" I cheered, launching myself at him and hugging him.

His arms wrapped around me enthusiastically returning the hug. "I can't believe it. It's all because of you."

I laughed. "I didn't do anything. You are the one that did it. All I had to do with tell you how."

"You are a great teacher."

I realized that we were hugging for a lot longer than what was normal. I tried to pull away from me but he was holding on pretty tightly. It took a few seconds before he realized and let go quickly, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.

"Well I think this is reason to celebrate," I told him, trying to cover up the awkward moment.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked skeptically.

I closed my eyes and felt the magic in the room shift as it changed to suit my will. Then I summoned a couple of butterbeers, a bunch of sweets, and snacks. I opened my eyes and glanced around the room. Not much had changed but it felt more open and freer. The main difference was the streamers that now cascaded from the ceiling. I picked up one of the butterbeer mugs and raised it in a toast. "To great accomplishments and many more to come," I said before taking a gulp.

He grinned and grabbed the other mug. "Cheers."

____

"It's getting worse," Hermione said the next morning at breakfast as she read through the Daily Prophet.

"What's happening now?" Harry asked, thought he sounded like he'd rather not know.

"More attacks. He's gone after a couple more Muggle towns and a few Wizard villages too. It looks like there is no place safe anymore."

"You haven't been getting anymore dreams or glimpses into his mind?" Ron asked Harry curiously.

Harry shook his head. "It seems like the Occlumency is really working this time. The few nightmares I have had lately have been normal ones."

"Have you tried to see what he's thinking?" I asked.

He blanched and shook his head again. "I don't exactly want to be in the mind of a psychopath."

Hermione threw down the paper with frustration. "The attacks are so random. There is no way to predict where he is going to go next. How are we supposed to protect anyone if we don't know where he's going? If only we knew what he was thinking."

I stared at her for a moment pondering her words. She was right, if only we know what Voldemort was thinking, we'd have a serious advantage. Suddenly the proverbial light bulb went off in my head. "Hermione, you are a genius! I have an idea."

A/N- I would have updated a lot sooner but I did NaNoWriMo, and got a bit caught up. It was amazing and inspired me to finish this story. Hopefully it will be finished soon since I have a much better idea of what direction I want this to take. Enjoy! :D


	21. Creation and Destruction

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twenty-One: **Creation and Destruction

I dragged the trio out of the Great Hall and into an abandoned classroom. "What's your big idea?" Hermione asked skeptically_._

"You were right. If we knew what Voldemort was thinking then we'd be able to defeat him. Fortunately for us, we have someone who just so happens to be able to hear peoples thoughts." I could almost feel myself glowing with excitement.

"You want to get into the mind of a maniac?" Ron asked, seemingly disgusted with the idea.

"Why not? I could get all the information that we need. I'd know where he is, what he's planning on doing, and who his followers are. We'd be able to stop him at every turn."

"He's evil Marlene. What if his mind corrupts yours?" Hermione asked me softly.

I thought about it for a moment. "I don't think that it will. Every moment of every day, my mind is touched by everyone else's. If they had any effect on me, I'd be insane by now. I think my mind is too strong for that."

"You want to do this, and you can't even be sure?" Hermione screeched, outraged.

"I thought you had to be near him in order to hear him. How do you plan on getting close to him without being noticed?" Harry asked.

I turned to him with a smirk. I stepped in front of him, looking him directly in his eyes. "With a secret passageway into his mind." I traced my fingertip along his scar to emphasize my point, causing him to shiver and blush.

"Absolutely not!" Hermione yelled.

"Harry isn't just some kind of tool," Ron put in, also in disagreement with my idea.

"He wouldn't be in any danger. The connection is purely mental, he wouldn't get physically harmed."

"What about mentally then?" Hermione countered.

"It wouldn't broaden the connection at all. It would be the same that it has always been. And he's gotten very good at Occlumency so he'd be able to block his mind from Voldemort. All I would need is a small in, and then I could take care of everything."

"I don't like this," Hermione stated.

"I think we should consider it. We should talk to Dumbledore about it and see what he says," Harry told us.

"You can't be serious!" Ron yelled.

"Would it be better to sit idly by and let innocent people keep dying?" he asked harshly.

"No," Ron muttered, the tips of his ears turning pink.

"Let's go to Dumbledore right now," I said ready to take some action.

"We have to get to class," Hermione protested. "We can try to talk to him after lunch. I doubt that whatever he decides, any action will be taken today. A few hours won't make a difference."

I fumed but remained silent. She did have a point. "We best be off then," Ron said. I looked at Harry to see if he was as surprised as I was that Ron would rather go to class than do something to get him out of it. Evidently he was if he slightly slacked jaw and wide eyes were anything to go by.

I was impatient throughout all of my morning classes, and I just couldn't seem to sit still. I caught Draco sending me many concerned looks and he asked me what was wrong silently many times. Each time I assured him that everything was fine, but obviously I wasn't very convincing.

My fidgeting was so bad that even some of the professors began to notice. In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall told me twice to sit still. The third time she told me sternly, "Miss Wizidore, if you cannot manage to be still I will have to ask you to leave my classroom."

"Yes, Ma'am," I murmured as I tried to still my restless body.

As soon as everyone finished eating, I dragged them up to Uncle Albus's office. The password was barely out of my mouth when the gargoyle leapt aside to let us through.

"Blimely, how often are you here?" Ron asked.

"Much more often that I would like," I told him with a grin. Despite the fact that I was on extremely good terms with him, I did not want a reputation of constantly being at the headmaster's office. No matter how you looked at it, if someone who didn't know exactly what was going on had any idea how many times I had been to his office during my time at the school, they would have some speculations that I could live without.

When we reached the top of the staircase, I knocked on the door and was immediately bade entrance.

"Marlene, your visits are becoming much more frequent. I assume that his is not merely for pleasure?"

"You would be correct. I had an idea about Voldemort that I would like to run past you," I told him as we all took our seats.

His expression immediately became much more serious, for which I was thankful. Most adult wizards wouldn't even bother listening to the ideas of a sixteen year old on such delicate issues, but Uncle Albus kept an open mind. "Do tell."

I recounted my idea to him as he listened silently, resting his chin on his tented fingers. When I finished he looked thoughtful for a few moments. "I think you may have stumbled upon a wondrous idea. I'm not sure however that I can allow Harry to be put at such risk. This is a very unique situation and we can't be sure what exactly will happen. It could be as you say and nothing will change, or it could cause everything to fall about, destroying Harry's mental stability. There is just absolutely no safe way to test this out."

"What if I decide that I want to try it?" Harry asked.

Uncle Albus's bushy white eyebrows shot up. "You would risk yourself for a plan that you can't even be sure will work?"

"My life has been risked enough when I have had no say in things. I have been in heaps of danger where I had no idea how things would turn out. Why should this be any different?" I could hear the subtle bitterness that tinted Harry's words. He was used to being a pawn, and while he hated it, he was willing to accept it if it meant that he would be saving others.

"The difference between this time and the others is that you are putting yourself in unnecessary danger! We will find a way to get rid of him. You don't have to do it like this," Hermione began to plead with him.

"She's right mate. What happens if we lose you?" Ron added.

Harry looked defeated. "He's going to keep coming after me. He won't stop unless I'm dead. I just want this to end."

I put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "This decision is ultimately up to you. They are right. You are the one that is going to be taking the risks. No matter what you choose, we will find a way to stop him, and you will survive this."

Bright green eyes met mine. "How can you be so sure? Are you a Seer too?"

I chuckled. "No, thank Merlin. But I have confidence and I believe in you."

"We'll do research. We'll find out as much as we can about connections and what happens when a telepath gets involved. After we get as much information as we can, then you can make a decision, Harry," Dumbledore told him. Harry just nodded, not taking his eyes off of mine. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, would you excuse us? I would like a moment alone with Marlene and Harry if you will."

"We'll wait for you downstairs," Ron told us as he led Hermione out of the door.

"I'm sorry for causing this mess," I said, breaking my gaze away from Harry and looking down at my hands. I felt embarrassed. It wasn't like me to get so excited and caught up in things. Usually I thought things out, but this time I just dove in head first.

"Don't apologize. You had a great idea. Actually I am surprised that I haven't thought of it myself," Uncle Albus told me with twinkling eyes. "It is just something we must think about very carefully."

"Do you really think that it could work?" Harry asked.

"I don't have enough information to tell, but yes, in principle it should. I am not experience enough in the ways of the mind to know what the consequences of it would be however."

"If it were you?" he asked.

"I would wait a while more and gather the facts. You must also take in account the prophecy and what would happen to the world if something awful were to happen to you. You are a beacon of hope for many in our society."

Harry groaned. "I am just a kid."

"You have indeed been dealt a very unfair hand. Perhaps thought it is because you are the one person who is able to handle the pressure. Nearly everyone else would have broken at the burdens that have been placed on your shoulders, and yet you stand before us as a strong young man, still willing to fight."

A faint blush tinted Harry's cheeks. "He's right you know. You are kind of amazing," I told him.

"I'd rather just be normal."

"You will never be normal, Harry," I told him.

He just groaned.

"We will do whatever we can to end this as soon as possible. I'm sure Marlene wouldn't mind doing a bit of extra research, and I wouldn't doubt if Miss Granger already has some books in mind to start. We will look into this and do what's best."

He dismissed us and we went down the stairs to meet up with Ron and Hermione.

"Why is he always making us leave to talk to you two?" Ron asked petulantly.

"It's just to get an update from us on our private lessons. I guess he doesn't want you guys to feel too left out of that part," I lied. Harry had yet to tell them about the prophecy, and I didn't want to let it slip that I knew anything about it.

"Let's just get ready for afternoon classes. We can spend the evening in the library doing research," Hermione said, leading us to our next class, Charms.

"Harry and I can't. We have Quidditch try outs tonight," Ron said, trying to hide his grin. He was glad to be able to get out of extra work. "Are you sure you can't try out for the team? We would be unstoppable with you."

I laughed. "Yes I'm sure. Besides I definitely don't have enough time. Especially with this new research project, it would either be the D.A. or Quidditch. As much as I may love Quidditch, the D.A. is must more important."

"Are you going to join me in the library then?" Hermione asked hopefully. She seemed to enjoy company when she was studying. Well at least company that enjoyed research as much as she did.

"I can't. I have plans."

"Meeting up with Malfoy?" Ron asked, spitting out the name.

"That's not the plan, but we usually end up running into each other at some point. I have my punishment with Severus tonight."

"You are still under detention with him?" Harry asked surprised. "I've never even had detention with him for this long."

I laughed. "No, Uncle Albus just thinks that we need to learn to work together so he is making us meet once a week until we can be around each other for a significant amount of time without trying to curse each other. It really isn't that bad. I'll pick his brain about our plan though. He will probably have some information that we can use. He'll have books at the very least."

"You really think you can trust him?" Ron asked.

I nodded. "He's not really as bad as you think." He and Harry scoffed. "Don't get me wrong. He is bad, but he's not evil. He's just a giant prat."

***

"You're late," Severus said when I entered his quarters that night.

I rolled my eyes. "Nice to see you too Severus. How have you been doing?"

He sneered at me. "Let's just get to work. I'm going to be teaching you some more advanced spells."  
I sighed, "Fine, but can I ask you something before we get started?"

I saw his jaw clench. I was already getting under his skin and I wasn't even really doing anything. This was going to be a long night. "If you must."

"Well there are two things actually." I could have sworn I saw one of his eyes twitch. He was really in a bad mood today. I was just glad that I didn't have his class earlier. He probably would have cursed me as soon as I walked in the door. "First of all I am going to need more potions when you get a chance. I'm starting to run low."

He sighed. "Fine I'll make the time."

"Secondly, do you have any books or any information that could help with entering another person's through a third party?"

"What in Merlin's name are you up to now?" he asked exasperatedly. I gave him a quick outline of my plan and he groaned. "You are always getting into one kind of trouble or another aren't you?"

"I'm not trying to start trouble. I'm just trying to help."

"We have spies to gather information about him."

"But the intelligence you get is limited. He doesn't tell everyone everything that is going on. You can't even disclose where he is because you are still bound to him. If he doesn't know that I'm in his mind, he can't do anything to stop me from telling you and Uncle Albus what I find out."

"Why can't you just go into my mind and find his location then?" he asked angrily. "Why am I bothering to risk my life if this is all so simple?"

I stared at him for a moment. "Do you really want me to try to pick his location out of your mind, or was that entirely sarcastic."

He glared at me. "Go ahead. Try it. See why it's not so simple."

I took a deep breath and dove into his mind. It was heavily guarded, but instead of plowing through them, I just wound my way around them. Suddenly I came to one area filled with darkness. I pressed through it, but it seemed never ending. It was laced with malice and evil. I could feel the tendrils of it trying to seep into my own mind and corrupt me, but my mind was stronger than it and it did nothing more than agitate me. I concentrated on Voldemort, trying to bring as many memories Severus had of him to the surface as possible.

They all came at once, and I was only aware of one moment of pain, and then nothing but darkness and silence. I wasn't sure how long the darkness and silence lasted before I woke up to choking on a potion that was being shoved down my throat.

"Are you happy now?" Severus asked as he propped me up.

"What happened?" I asked wincing at the hoarse sound of my voice.

"You were able to experience the joys of working for the Dark Lord," he told me bitterly.

I stood up slowly, holding on to Severus as the room spun slightly. "It felt like getting hit by a thousand Crucios at once."

"That's about the scope of it."

"Thanks for that," I groaned collapsing into a chair.

"Did you get anything from that except for pain?" he asked with a smirk.

I tried to sort out through all the memories. I saw Voldemort giving commands, I saw him sending me/Severus out on raids to torture people. I saw him sitting on a throne in a cave, cursing his followers for the slightest infraction, but I couldn't see where the cave was. I saw him in dungeons and halls and fields, but I was never able to figure out where exactly his location was.

"He never tells you where he is," I said, it finally dawning on him. "That way you can't betray him and tell his location."

"Very good," he said with a smirk. He lifted the sleeve of his shirt to show me the Dark Mark. "This is more than I pretty branding symbolizing his servitude. It burns when he calls us, and it guides us to him. We never know where we are going. We just follow the mark."

"You could have just told me that," I growled at him, holding my head in my hands trying to fight off the huge headache that I was getting.

"Since when do you believe me? You always learn the hard way. I just figured we'd save some time."

I glared at him. "So do you think you can help or not?"

He began scanning the bookshelves that lined the walls. "I think I have a few books that might be of some use. You can take them with you, after the lesson."

I groaned but stood up, waiting to take whatever punishment he was going to throw my way.

***

"What happened to you?" Draco asked as soon as I stepped into view. He was sitting on the ledge of tower wall, looking absolutely picturesque in the moonlight until he saw me limp in. He slid down and pulled me into his arms so that he could examine me.

"I had lessons with Severus. He was in a particularly bad mood."

"He hurt you?" he asked, a dangerous note in his voice.

I chucked. "Don't worry, he has a limp too. We'll both be fine by tomorrow. I'm just a bit sore."

"I think both of you get a kick out of torturing each other," he mumbled and he hugged me.

I laughed, "You are probably right about that. There is just something very satisfying about getting under his skin. Have you ever seen him twitch? It's lovely."

He just rolled his eyes as he sat down and pulled me into his lap. "What was up with you today? You were fidgeting all day, and now you come in all battered and in a fantastic mood. Is that what I have to do when you are in a bad mood? Just duel you and beat you up?"

"Oh please, as if you could beat me up? You could possibly take me in a physical challenge because you are bigger than me, but I doubt that you have any really skills at head to head fighting. You are too prissy for that."

"Prissy?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, prissy. You fawn over your looks too much. You'd be too afraid to mar your perfect features to truly be able to fight."

"So you think that I have perfect features?" he asked with a grin.

"No, you do." I grinned at him and kissed his nose. "But I'm pretty sure I could take you in a duel."

He scoffed. "Do you not know who I am?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes you are the great Draco Malfoy. You probably have a large artillery of Dark Magic that would make lesser people beg for mercy."

"But not you," he said, sounding amused.

"Of course not. I laugh in the face of evil. Ha!"

"We should test your theory sometime."

I nodded. "Just name the time and the place. Just not tonight. I'm beat." He chuckled and kissed me. When he pulled away an odd flicker of emotion passed through his eyes. "What are you thinking?" I asked reaching up to play with his silky hair.

"I'm just amazed that you are right here in my arms."

I tilted my head as I studied him, trying to figure out if he was serious or not. He appeared to be. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Definitely a good thing." He pulled down the collar of his shirt so that I could see the necklace I gave him. "I never take it off, you know."

"That's very sweet. It's like I've branded you." His smile faltered for a moment. It took me a moment to realize that it probably reminded him of the Dark Mark that he was supposed to be destined to get. I tried to back pedal. "I didn't mean it like that. It just seems to make it more official. There is physical evidence that you are my boyfriend and that I care about you a lot."

"And it's a lot less embarrassing than I hickey," he said with a laugh.

"But a lot less fun," I said, pressing my lips against his throat.

He moaned. "How about we go to a place a lot more comfortable?" he asked, his voice taking on a husky tone.

I grinned at him. "Your room?" he nodded and started to kiss me as I teleported us into his bed. His kisses and touches took on a desperation that I had never known before. It felt amazing and I started to lose control of myself and was letting down my shields.

I started to tap into his mind. At first it made things even better and added a delicious edge to our ministrations as we went further and further. I could feel his body against mine, and I could feel my body against his in his perspective. It was double the pleasure.

But then his mind stared to wander and it was like I was falling down a hole and I couldn't get out. The images were floating across my mind as clear as him on top of me. He was in a similar situation to what we were in now, yet the girl underneath him wasn't me.

At this moment I tried to push him away, not wanting to see anymore, be he was insistent and didn't relinquish his hold on my body.

In my mind's eyes he/I was naked and moving against an equally naked girl, who I recognized to be Pansy. _I love you_, she whispered.

_I love you too,_ he/I mumbled back and began to kiss her.

Pansy's hands moved along his/my neck and started to toy with the necklace there.

It only took a split second for me to realize what the necklace meant. It was the one I gave him. I gave it to him only a few days ago. He cheated on me. He told that girl that he loved her.

I pushed him away violently.

His eyes flashed for a moment and then he just looked confused. "What's wrong?" He was still panting from our intense session. So was I, but now it felt more out of anger.

"You slept with Pansy," I said, trying to hold my voice steady.

He blinked at me several times in shock. "What? Where are you getting this from?"

"Your mind," I said, having a harder time of keeping my voice steady, and tears were starting to blind my vision.

His eyes blazed with anger. "You were in my mind?" I nodded, not backing down. He didn't scare me. He saw this and sighed. "That was a long time ago."

"You were wearing my necklace." His hand immediately moved to touch the pendant at his throat. "You told her you loved her."

"Marlene, it's not what you think," he started but I shook my head, refusing to hear anymore. The guilt was written plainly on his face.

"Stay away from me," I told him before disappearing from the room.

I appeared in front of the entrance of the Room of Requirement. It was exactly what I needed. I went through the motions to get the door to appear, and entered to find it looking quite similar to the living room setting it often took when I was with Harry.

I fell to the ground, unable to contain myself. I was dimly aware of objects in the room beginning to shake and start to explode as I expressed my grief, my magic leaking out, combining with the magic of the room, and destroying things. The tears finally began to fall from my eyes, and the room began to rain, yet I was still hardly aware of it. I began to scream, and darkness began to over take me, but not before I glimpsed fire begin to leak out from the fire place. And then I knew no more.

A/N- Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to review!


	22. Starting Over

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Starting Over**

I heard voices everywhere. They were in the room. They were in my head. Some of them were loud, but others were quiet. Some sounded angry, others sounded worried and yet others just sounded confused. I couldn't quite make out what any of them were saying though.

They pulled me out of the thick darkness that I was in. A part of me knew that I wanted to stay in the darkness. It was protecting me. It was stopping whatever pain would be awaiting me as soon as I got out of it. I didn't know what was supposed to hurt me or how I knew that it was going to hurt, but it was an undeniable truth. Yet I also knew that I couldn't just stay in the comforting darkness. For one, it wouldn't be able to protect me forever. Whatever it was that I was hiding from would be able to get to me here, and somehow I knew and understood this. Secondly, there were people that needed me and things that I had to do. I had to help the voices that were calling to me. So I swam through the darkness, trying to reach the voices.

I pried my eyes opened, only to have them burned by the light of the room. I hissed and clamped by eyes closed quickly.

"It's okay. It's dark now," a voice whispered close by. The voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it at the moment.

Slowly, I opened my eyes again see several people standing around my bed peering down at me anxiously. The faces were blurred and seem to run together so I couldn't immediately identify the people around me.

"How do you feel?" the same voice asked softly.

I looked towards the sound, trying to focus on just that one person and immediately seeing the alabaster face framed with the white blonde hair, and the magnificent blue gray eyes looking at me, clouded over with worry, and a bit of relief. Warmth spread through me at the sight of him, and in an instant froze me as I remembered everything that happened, and what must have been why I was in the hospital wing. "Get out," I croaked at him.

His eyes widened slightly. I was so weak that I could feel everyone's thoughts swirling around my mind, unable to block them out, and while I wasn't really paying attention to any of them, I could still feel his strongest. "Don't do this Marlene. You don't understand," his words were just a mere shadow of the thoughts and feeling swirling around in the boy before me.

I shook my head, refusing to even look at him. I didn't even need to see him to see the desperation that flickered through him. I could see it from the thoughts of the others around the room. I could feel it radiating off of him. I pushed it all aside though, refusing to let it sway my thoughts. "Get out. Stay away from me. I don't want to ever see you again."

"Just listen to me. Just give me one moment to explain," he pleaded with me. He sounded so desperate, and so unlike himself, but I didn't care. He lied and he cheated on me. There was no excuse, and I didn't care why. All I wanted was for him to leave.

"OUT!" I screamed, hearing the sound of bottles shattering nearby, and a few surprised gasps. I glanced around at the other faces looking out, and took notice of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Uncle Albus. At the commotion, Madame Pomphrey came hurrying out of her office.

"Mister Malfoy, I'm going to have to ask you to leave immediately," Uncle Albus said, using his authority as headmaster.

Draco could do nothing to refuse despite how obvious it was that he wanted to. He gave me one last pleading look, and when he saw that I wasn't going to change my mind, he turned on his heel and strode out of the room with his chin held high. He was a Malfoy through and through. There was no way that he was going to let the pain I felt coming from him show in his exterior. Malfoys never show weakness. He might have slipped up a few moments again, but he was quickly pulling together the façade.

"Albus, what are you thinking? How could you let her get so upset upon waking up?" Madame Pomfrey chastised as she hurried over and started examining me.

"It was inevitable. I was unaware of the rift that has formed between Miss Wizidore and Mister Malfoy. Shall I ask the others to leave as well?" he asked me.

I just shook my head. I didn't really care if the others were there or not. "What happened to me this time?" I asked as Madame Pomfrey finished her examination.

"It would appear that you exhausted your magical supply," she told me with a click of her tongue. She gave me a potion and waited patiently for me to swallow it before moving on with the next order of her business.

"You were found lying unconscious in one of the corridors and was immediately brought to the hospital wing. No one appears to know how you got to be in the corridor though." Uncle Albus supplied.

"I was with Draco. We, uh…" I trailed off, feeling myself flush. I was suddenly embarrassed by the situation and I really didn't want to admit to my uncle that my boyfriend had cheated on me, although for some reason I suspected that he might already know. "We had an argument, so I left. I went to the Room of Requirement. I wreaked some havoc there and I might have destroyed a lot of school property," I said, feeling my flush darken even more. "That was the last place I remember being. Who found me anyways?"

"Mister Malfoy," Uncle Albus told me.

I groaned and buried my head in my pillow. I definitely didn't want to owe Draco for anything, especially now. I pushed the feeling of owing him away, figuring that what he did was worse and the least he could have done was to make sure that I was okay, though I couldn't for the life of me figure out how he managed to find me.

"Just lovely," I muttered.

"Are you sure that all that happened was that you were upset?" Uncle Albus asked.

I racked my memory trying to figure out if something seemed off, but I couldn't find anything. "I'm pretty sure. I remember being in the room and things exploding. It started to rain, and there was fire. How much trouble am I in?"

His eyes sparkled down at me. "You are in no trouble. There was no permanent damage. Everything in that room is created as necessary. If you ever were to go back, you would find it working properly and everything fine, unless of course for some reason you needed that specific room again. It must have known that you were in danger, or you subconsciously asked for help and it pushed you outside. I am just very thankful that you decided to go some place where you wouldn't hurt anyone else or draw attention to yourself."

"I can't really say that I was thinking much about anyone else. I just needed to get away from Draco and go somewhere where I knew that he wouldn't be able to find me."

"Well then, I must say that you have excellent instincts and I am most impressed. Though, now that you are awake and well, I have some other business that I must attend to. Enjoy your evening." I watched him as he left the wing, and then turned to the others who remained silent throughout the entire exchange.

"How long have I been here?" I asked.

"Most of the day. Dinner is about to start in like an hour," Harry told me scooting closer to the head of my bed so that he would be closer to me.

"Well at least it hasn't been a couple of days this time," I muttered.

"What did you and Malfoy argue about?" Ron asked, earning him an elbow in his side from Hermione.

"Maybe she doesn't want to tell us," she hissed at him.

"Well she can bloody well say so," he retorted rubbing his side.

"He cheated on me," I told them, effectively ending their argument. All three of their eyes widened.

"Who would be mental enough to get with that git?" Ron asked.

"Some girl from his house named Pansy," I muttered. I was surprised at how good it felt to have friends to talk about this with. I was used to having to keep so much to myself, that it was a relief to be able to have people around who really seemed to care.

"He used to be with Pansy," Hermione said softly.

Ron looked at her incredulously. "Why are you paying attention to the love life of Malfoy?"

"I'm not!" she protested. "I just hear things. I only pay attention to my own love life."

"You have a love life?" he asked surprised.

"Oh course I have a love life! I am a girl you know. Or haven't you noticed?" she was bristling by now.

Ron just stared at her, looking a bit confused. "Malfoy is an idiot," Harry said before Ron and Hermione could continue their bickering.

I shrugged. "Maybe I was just stupid for trusting him. I should have known that there was something wrong, but I never saw it coming."

"It's not your fault. You were willing to trust him when no one else would. That's not a bad thing," Hermione assured me.

Madame Pomfrey came over then, interrupting our conversation by giving me another potion to drink it. After it was all gone, she deemed me well enough to be released from her care, but made me promise that I would take it easy and I would get some food.

As I left the hospital wing, the trio hovered around me. I suppose they were just trying to make sure that I wasn't going to just sit around and mope, and I was thankful that they cared enough to do so, but my mental barriers were weak and I just wanted some time to myself.

"I appreciate everything you guys, but I just really want to be alone for a bit," I told them as we made our way down the hall.

They all just stopped and looked at me. "Oh," Harry said simply, looking away. I could feel that he was hurt.

"It really isn't anything personal you guys. My mental shields are down, and you all think really loudly. I have a huge headache. I just want to go rebuild them and it's kind of hard to do so when I'm around other people."

This seemed to make things a bit better. "Are you sure you are going to be okay?" Harry asked.

I nodded. "I'll be fine, I promise. No more trips to the hospital for a while. I'll be back in the common room long before curfew too," I added to reassure Hermione.

Reluctantly, they left and I made my way outside. As I headed to the doors I wondered absently when Ron and Hermione were going to get together. It was obvious that they both liked each other. They bother were just probably too stubborn to actually admit it aloud. I shook my head laughing to myself at their antics and headed straight for my favorite tree and sat beneath it with a sigh of relief. It was finally quiet. That didn't last for too long though because moments later I heard, "I thought I'd find you here."

I looked up to find Draco standing beside me, leaning casually against the tree as he stared out over the lake. He had his hands stuffed in his trouser pockets and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. A slight wind blew sending strands of his hair into his face, and he looked absolutely gorgeous, as if he were a statue of a god. He must have blocked his thoughts very well for me not to be able to hear him as open as I was. If only he had that much control over his thoughts last night, we wouldn't be in this situation. I quickly discarded that thought. No, I was much better off knowing the truth than just believing a lie, no matter how much it might hurt. "I thought I told you to stay away from me," I said coldly.

"I'm not leaving you alone until you listen to what I have to say," he drawled.

I sighed and leaned my head back against the tree. "I don't really care what you have to say Draco. What's done is done. Why can't you just leave me in peace?"

"I don't want you to be hurt. There is more to the story than you think. After you hear me out if you want nothing to do with me, then I'll leave you alone, but I'm not going to just give up on you."

"Why not?"

"You never gave up on me. You had loads of people telling you that you should just leave me alone and forget about me, but you didn't. I don't want you to just think that they were all right about me."

"I don't care about any of that, and I don't want to hear what your excuses are right now. Maybe you can tell me later, but please, just leave me alone for now," I begged him. My head was throbbing and I was exhausted.

"If I don't do this now, I don't know if I'll ever get another chance."

I shook my head and stood up. "Go away. Now. I mean it Draco." He stood firm, refusing to walk away. Sighing, I cast a series of spells that left him incapacitated and unable to speak. I pulled out my wand and held it to his throat. "I've had a very bad day. I promise you that if you just leave me alone, we can talk in a few days. I'll listen to whatever you want to tell me. But for now, I just want you to leave me alone and stay out of my way."

I added a bit more pressure to the wand at his throat before straightening. "Finite Incantatem Totalus," I said, ending all spells that held him. He stood up gingerly and began to wipe his hands on his trousers. I studied him, waiting for any indication that he was going to retaliate or refuse to leave. I glimpsed something that was on his left arm that wasn't there before. "What's on your arm?" I asked trying to keep my voice steady.

His eyes immediate dropped to his left forearm and he hastily pulled down his shirt sleeve to hide it, but it was too late. I already saw the Dark Mark marring his perfect flesh. "Nothing," he said and I heard a slight tremor in his voice.

I slowly moved closer to him, half expecting him to bolt but he didn't. He just stared at me in wonder. I took his hand in mine and lifted his sleeve to look at the tattoo better. "It looks like you chose your side," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I didn't have a choice," he replied, his voice just as soft.

I met his eyes and was surprised to see his filled with tears. "What do you mean? You always have a choice."

"My choices were to get the Mark or die. I probably made the wrong choice. He's most likely going to end up killing me anyways."

Part of me was angry at him for allowing himself to be branded a follower of the Dark Lord, but I realized that he really didn't have another choice. "Who else knows?"

"Hardly anyone. Only a select few in his inner circle."

"Go to Dumbledore. He can help you."

He laughed bitterly and brushed at the tears in his eyes. "Why would Dumbledore help me? I'm just a Death Eater."

"You are his student. He cares about all of his students, no matter who they are. If you don't want to follow Voldemort, he will help protect you, but he can't do anything if you don't swallow your stupid pride and go to him and ask for help." Despite the fact that he hurt me, I still couldn't bear the thought of him on the dark side or being killed at the hands of the psychopathic Voldemort.

"It's too late. I've already been Marked."

"How long has it been anyways?" I asked.

"I got it right before school started."

"So what did you go to Dumbledore for before?"

He shook his head. "It was about something completely different."

"Did he help you?" He nodded slightly. "So he'll help you with this. Just trust him, unless of course you do just want to be the slave of Voldemort."

"Why are you trying to help me? I thought that you hated me now," he asked softly.

"No one deserves to have their life and choices taken away from them. Not even a bastard like you."

"I didn't have much of a choice in what happened with Pansy either," he said softly, sitting down and drawing his knees to his chest.

I rolled my eyes and sat down too, making sure to keep plenty of space between us. I should have known he would take the opportunity to be able to tell me whatever it was that he had to say. "Let me guess, you were under the Imperious Curse."

He shook his head. "If only it were that. That would have been at least slightly justifiable."

I groaned. "Just get on with it then. I can't wait to wash my hands of this entire business."

"You are on my mind too much. Break is coming up soon, and I'm going to be called to the Dark Lord's lair. You have no idea what it's like to be in his presence. He is terrifying, and he just gets so deep into your mind."

"You do remember that I'm a Telepath, right?" I asked a bit sarcastically.

He glared at me. "It's not like with you. He basically rapes your mind. I couldn't afford to let him see you in my mind. If he did, he would become curious and he'd make me tell him about you. He'd try to recruit you. I got with Pansy to try to protect you. I figured that if I just concentrated on her, he wouldn't see how important you were to me. He'd just think that I was with Pansy."

I couldn't stop the bitter laugh that escaped my lips. "So you slept with Pansy in order to save me?" He nodded grimly and even looked at bit embarrassed. "Why didn't you just ask for my help? Don't you think that of all people, I'd be able to help you?"

His grey eyes caught mind and they were full of turmoil. "How was I supposed to ask for your help without telling you everything? If I had asked, you would have wanted to know why."

I opened my mouth to protest, but I couldn't. He was right. As soon as he would have asked me, I would have wanted to know why, and if he refused to tell me why, I would have assumed that it was to hide things from me. "You should have told me everything," I told him instead.

"How do you tell the person that you love that you are everything that they hate and vow to destroy?" he asked looking at me meaningfully, yet desperate to have me tell him what he could do to make it right.

I stared at him. Love was not a word I ever imagined Draco using, not even towards me. I knew he cared about me, but he wasn't really in touch with his emotions, so for him to say something like that was a very big deal, even bigger than it would be for anyone else that I knew. I brushed it aside though, still too upset and hurt to let him off the hook. "You start by doing everything you can to not be the person the one you love hates and vows to destroy."

He closed the space between us and cupped my face in his hands. "How do I do that?"

"Start by going to Dumbledore."

He sighed but nodded. "I'll go first thing in the morning. What about us though?"

"There is no more 'us' Draco. It doesn't matter what you were trying to do, you still betrayed me, and I can't trust you anymore."

I saw the hurt in his eyes. "So that's it then? It's just over between us?"

"For now it is. Maybe one day I will be able to trust you again. Maybe we'll just move on with our lives and find someone new. We just start over and go back to the beginning."

His eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to give up on us."

I just shrugged, feigning nonchalance while in my chest my heart was beating like crazy, hoping that it was true. "That's your choice, but I'm not going to wait around for you to get yourself together."

He nodded and a trace of the old Malfoy smirk graced his lips. "I love a challenge. I can do anything that I put my mind to. Or have you forgotten that I'm a Malfoy?"

I grinned, relieved that the worse part of this conversation was over. "How could I forget? You nearly bleed arrogance. Don't worry I won't hold your family name against you too much."

He kissed my forehead. "You'll be mines again soon. No one can resist my charm."

I rolled my eyes. "The possessive thing really doesn't work in your favor."

He gave me one of his rare true smiles. "I'll see you around Marlene, and I really will be seeing Dumbledore tomorrow morning."

I nodded. "Good. Just make sure that you are going because it's what you really want and not just because you think it will win me back."

He nodded thoughtfully before turning and heading back to the castle. I sighed with relief as I watched him leave. That whole conversation was much more than I could have ever expected and was too much to digest. I needed a distraction. I closed my eyes and summoned the books that Severus let me borrow, figuring that I might as well do something productive as I distracted myself. I opened my eyes to see the book lying in the grass beside me. I picked up the first one, and began to read.


	23. An Invitation

_FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twenty-Three:** An Invitation

* * *

I buried myself in research. I had some book or another in my hand in every moment of my free time. I even had taken to reading while I was in class. It was much to the annoyance of professors when they would notice that I wasn't paying attention in class, yet when they asked me a question and yet I would still be able to answer with a full, in-depth, and most importantly, correct answer. That seemed to only infuriate them more. Of course I suppose that it was cheating that I would reach into my classmate's minds in order to find out what the question was, but at least I answered with my own knowledge. It wasn't my fault that I had either learned the material before, or had already passed the section when I was reading through the text books.

Ron and Harry took to joking with me that that I was worse than Hermione when it came to research. Sure, she was spending much of her free time trying to find some information about telepathy and mental links, but to her credit, she had other things that she had to do as well. She had her prefect duties, and it took her a bit longer to do her homework than it took me, mostly because she was a lot more in-depth with her research than I was. I couldn't be bothered to look up evidence to support things that I definitely knew to be facts. I didn't have that kind of patience. Plus I even convinced Severus and Xavier to not only spend the time of our lesson researching, but also helping and letting me bounce ideas off of them.

Probably my biggest reason for throwing myself into the research with such force was to just forget about everything that had happened with Draco. I had no idea what to do about the situation. Part of me was still furious at him because of his betrayal. No matter what his intentions might have been, it was still wrong, and it hurt. The worst part was that I could feel his intentions. I knew that in his own crazy way, he really did think that being with Pansy would serve to save me. It really took the edge off my anger to know that he was really trying to do something good. The entire thing was just confusing me, and my mind was still roiling with the fact that he told me that he loved me. Granted it was in a bit of a roundabout way, but for Draco, that was about the same as a normal person pledging their undying love and servitude. It wasn't something to be taken lightly.

I wasn't sure how I felt about him still, even outside of the whole cheating thing. I liked to believe that he was a pretty good guy, though it was quite possible that I was just being very naive about him. He had just been dealt a rough hand, and had no body to help him find the right path. I had fun with him and for some reason I was really comfortable with him. I could talk to him. I knew that I cared about him a lot, but I had no idea to what extent my feelings reached. I didn't really have anything to compare my feelings towards him with. He was the only guy I had ever been involved with, and I never really had many friends my age. The closest I had was Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but I hadn't known them as long, and it seemed unfair to compare them to Draco.

He did go talk to Uncle Albus like he promised he would, for which I was very thankful though I didn't know what exactly was said. He let me know later that day, and since then we hadn't talked at all outside of Severus's class in which we had to speak because we were partners. It was as if we took a mutual break from each other to sort ourselves out. I was glad that he wasn't spending every free moment trying to butter me up, not that I really expected a Malfoy to do such a thing, but I found myself missing him quite a bit, especially at night. I found myself having nightmares again without the comfort of him sleeping next to me. I tended to only get a few hours of sleep before I would wake up stifling a scream. I would then spend the rest of the night in the common room reading.

During those few rare moments that I wasn't distracting myself with class work, homework, studying, research, lessons with Harry, Xavier or Severus, or sleep, I would find myself staring off into space just thinking about Draco.

I was in one of those moments when Harry started gently shaking my arm. We were in the Room of Requirement studying alone. Ron and Hermione had prefect duties to attend to, and the common room was packed. We had had been in our own little worlds studying when I had spaced out. I blinked and started at him perplexedly. "I'm sorry, were you saying something?"

He just laughed. "I was just asking if you found out if you were going home for the break."

I felt myself frown. He had been asking me a lot about what my plans were and I had yet to find out why. "I wrote to my parents asking them what the deal was, but I haven't gotten a response yet. I'll probably get it today. Why?"

He just shrugged. "I was just wondering. I figured that if you didn't have plans maybe you would want to join Ron, Hermione and I."

My eyes widened. "You are inviting me home with you?"

He blushed. "It's just that we usually spend the holidays together, and I thought you might rather join us than being stuck here alone. There is plenty of space if you decide to. It's safe too. Dumbledore tends to stop by a lot."

I nodded absently. I had heard mentioned a secret meeting place for some group that Uncle Albus was supposedly in charge of and I figured that must be the place they were all going. "Well, as soon I get word from my parents, I'll let you know."

He beamed at me, looking quite pleased. "So how is the research going?" he asked, noticing the book that was momentarily abandoned in my lap. I noticed that he was nervous about the whole idea, but he was still trying to keep an open mind about it.

"Well it's not going too far. I really don't think we'll be able to find too much information. There doesn't seem to be a connection like yours recorded before, and I've been through pretty much every book there is on the subject. There haven't been many true telepaths reported either. There are other connections though. For instance in some bonding ceremonies the two parts form a telepathic connection. In those cases if you use Legilimency on one, you can enter the other's mine, and cause no harm to any of the three. In the rare cases of a telepath trying to enter the mind, they have been able to easily sort through the minds without either of them noticing what was going on."

"Why is it that you can't tell when a telepath is in your mind anyways?"

"A telepath just gets on the same wavelength of your brain. It's more like I'm a radio antennae and I can just tune in to other peoples stations, and I can match my frequencies to yours to send a message back. Generally I just listen to the top layers of your mind, which is what you send out as you think. I even pick up on the subconscious things too. If I were to delve into the deeper parts of your mind, that's when you would feel me."

"So Legilimency is just like going straight to the deeper parts?" he asked.

I nodded. "Plus it's a force. They have to do something to actively get in, instead of just being able to hear you. Those who master it might be able to keep it from going so far so that you can't tell they are there, but that is extremely rare. You have to have excellent control. It's like a sculpture carving out the intricate details or a doctor performing a very delicate surgery. It takes lots of practice to be able to do it well."

He looked at me oddly. "You know, I took you to be a pure blood."

I laughed at him. "I am. Granted my ancestry consists of some obscure family names, I probably have some of the purest blood in our world. I'm probably of purer blood than the Malfoys, Blacks, and Zambinis. You can even trace my blood back to Merlin himself. Dumbledore can too, though I doubt he would ever tell anyone."

Harry looked mildly impressed, though I doubted he knew enough about blood lines to truly understand the significance. "You seem to know a bit about muggle culture. You've referenced them a few times," he pointed out.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him. "I'm surprised at you. I would have thought you spending time with the Weasleys would have taught you something. Not all pure bloods are against muggles."

He flushed. "I didn't mean it like that. Of course not all pure bloods hate muggles, but most of them still don't know anything about them."

"Well when I was younger, my parents tried the whole, raising me as muggle route. They thought that maybe it would help keep me off the radar. Most of my primary school days were spent bouncing around, going to several muggle primary schools. It was difficult, since I was always very in touch with my magic and was constantly doing incidental magic."

"Where all have you been?" he asked astonished.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. I know we spent quite awhile in America. We probably stayed in that country the longest. It was the easiest to blend in I think. They are pretty odd over there in some places. We stayed in Asia for a while too. I think I've been to most continents and a large portion of the world's countries. Sometimes we were only in a place for like a week before we moved on. We would bounce between the muggle sectors, the wizard sectors, and sometimes even stay with indigenous people," I told him, thinking back to all the places that I had been.

"Where was your favorite place?" he asked curiously.

I thought about it for a moment. I had seen some beautiful places in my travels. Some of them seemed like they had to be from different worlds. I met a lot of people, some of them beautiful, and some of them the kindest souls I could ever imagine. But which was my favorite? The answer came surprisingly easily. "Here?"

He looked surprised. "Of all the places you've been this is your favorite?"

I nodded. "I have people here that I never had before. I have friends. I mean there is you, Ron, and Hermione. There is Uncle Albus and Xavier. Even Severus has his moments. Of course there is…" I stopped myself from including Draco's name. I shook myself a bit before continuing, "I've never been this surrounded with people before. Well people I could truly considered my friends and who actually knew about me. I've had some amazing experiences traveling around, but it's been pretty lonely."

"I'm glad you are here," he said before blushing furiously.

I just smiled at him and laid my head on his shoulder. "Me too," I told him. In the back of my mind, I knew that Harry had taken a bit of liking to me, more than that of just friendship, and I shouldn't do things like put my head on his shoulder unless I wanted to start things with him, but I was craving physical comfort and I was tired. Despite of him being so skinny he actually made a pretty comfortable pillow. In no time I was asleep.

When I woke up, I didn't remember where I was or what happened at first. All I knew is that I was warm and comfortable. As what happened began to dawn on me, I realized that I wasn't in the same position I was in before I fell asleep. Instead of my head being on his shoulder, it was in his lap, and I had a blanket covering me. His arm was also around me, giving me an extra sense of warmth and security. I moved a bit so that I could look up at him and saw that his head was leaned far back and he was sleeping. Chuckling to myself, I tried to sit up without waking him, but I failed. As soon as his arm slid off of me, he woke up startled.

He blushed when he realized what happened. "You fell asleep," he said softly.

"I know. I'm sorry. You just made a pretty good pillow and I guess I haven't been sleeping to well lately," I told him stretching.

"Why not?" he asked seemingly concerned.

I bit my lip, reluctant to share the information with him. In the end I decided that it wasn't really anything worth hiding. "Well I was spending most of my nights with Draco. I guess I'm just not used to sleeping by myself now."

He grimaced. "Oh."

I laughed. "No, it wasn't quite like that. I just tend to have nightmares if I'm sleeping alone. For some reason having someone close chases them away." I shrugged. "It's no big deal though. I'll adjust."

"Well if I can help, just let me know," he told me before his eyes widened at the implications of what he said.

I started laughing. "Thanks, maybe I'll have to take you up on that," I told him with a wink before I could catch myself. I didn't know what came over me. I was really comfortable with Harry, and I enjoyed his company, but I didn't like him like that. Or did I? Was that the reason I kept flirting with him and leading him on? Did I really like him more that I thought and was just so involved with Draco that I never bothered to pay attention to it? But now I wasn't with Draco. I was free to be with whoever I wanted, if I even wanted another relationship. Or was I still just waiting for things to get better with Draco even though I told him as well as promised myself that I wasn't going to sit around waiting for him?

"We should probably head back to the common room before it gets too late. Ron and Hermione should be back by now," he told me bringing me out of my thoughts.

________

"Draco and Hermione, would you please stay after for a few minutes? You too Marlene," Xavier said right before the class was about to start packing up to leave. The three of us mentioned just looked at him in confusing before nodded.

I had no idea what he was up to. Hermione probably couldn't get into trouble if she meant to. Draco seemed a bit distracted in class, but he didn't do anything wrong. In fact his potion for the day came out nearly perfect. If I was in trouble with something, I couldn't imagine why he would be lecturing me in front of the others, especially since I technically wasn't in the class, and I couldn't figure out what would involve the three of us.

As soon as the classroom cleared, the three of us approached his desk. I looked at Xavier and realized that he was a bit nervous for something. I had to bite my lip not to laugh. Here he had us afraid that we were in trouble over something, and he was nervous.

"Well as you are well aware the term ends next Wednesday. You three have worked really hard and have done an excellent job in class. I was thinking that it would be nice to do something for you as a reward. I was thinking of having a little gathering for the top few in each class. You would all be welcomed to invite someone along if you wished." He paused for a moment, looking extremely uncomfortable. "What do you think?" he asked his eyes on me.

"That sounds like a lovely idea," Hermione blurted before blushing.

"It really does. That's nice of you," I told him grinning.

I turned to Draco to see what his reaction was, expecting it to be negative. Instead I just found him starting at me with an unreadable expression. "Sure," he said flatly, before turning back to Xavier.

"Great," he said beaming. "Well I suppose I'll finish getting the details in order and you can expect some invites in the near future. And don't forget you can bring dates if you wish."

"Why Xavier, is there going to be a beautiful young lady on your arm that night?" I asked with a grin.

He blushed as he looked at the other two, slightly upset that I was talking to him as I normally did in front of the others, instead of like a professor as I tried to do while we were in class. "I'm not sure. There is a very lovely young lady that I have found myself taken with, but I'm not sure that she will be joining me as a date."

I studied him curiously. _Well why not? Just ask her,_ I sent him, knowing how uncomfortable he was.

_It's not that easy. It's not really appropriate. I probably shouldn't even be interested in her. I don't even know if she likes me like that. And there is a bit of an age difference. I'm just not sure if I want to take that step. It could be horrible._

It was times like this when his true age began to shine through. He had a brilliant mind, but he was still an insecure teenager at times, especially if it came to social interactions. I probably would have been the same if I hadn't been forced to pretend that I was normal for most of my life. _I think you should go for it. You only live once. _

He just shrugged. _Maybe I will._ Then he cleared his throat before saying aloud, "Well have a lovely day you three."

The three of us headed for the door. When we got into the corridor I was surprised to hear from Draco. "Marlene, could I have a moment?"

I looked at Hermione who looked very displeased. Then again she didn't know about that conversation that he and I had where we kind of made things better. I felt a rush of affection for her for caring enough to get mad that someone who had hurt me was trying to talk to me. "Ummm…sure. I'll catch up to you later Hermione."

She looked at me shocked. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Draco and I are okay. We aren't going to kill each other. At least I don't think so." She looked a bit reluctant but nodded and headed off. "So what can I do for you Draco?" I asked trying to keep it casual.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," he told me apparently sincere.

I stared at him a moment, puzzled. It wasn't like him to randomly check into someone's well being. "I'm okay. I've been better and I've been worse. How about you?"

He laughed darkly, "Well I don't remember being worse, but I'm sure that it's possible."

"Why? What's going on?" I asked concerned.

He just shook his head. "There is nothing for you to worry about. It's just all stuff that I've gotten myself into."

I frowned. "If you need someone to talk to Draco, you can still come to me. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you."

"The same thing goes for you. If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, then feel free to come to me. Any time of day."

I couldn't help but to smile at him. I knew him well enough to really doubt that he would ever truly put someone before himself. Sure he would help me, but as long it wasn't interfering with something for him. "Sure. If it's in the middle of the night and I need you, I'll be sure to come knocking on your door. Or I suppose shaking your bed curtains."

He nodded and took my hand, pulling me along with him as he walked down the hall. I pulled my hand out of his grasp, but kept in step with him. He frowned. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," I told him quietly.

"I know that I can't do anything to change what happened. The stupid Ministry won't let me borrow a time turner." He scowled at the idea. "If I could turn back time and do things differently I would. I want to make things right, but I don't even know where to start."

"Things will never be exactly the way they were. You can't expect that they will. Let's just take things slow."

He sighed. "It's just really difficult. I really want to kiss you right now. I want to hug you and have everything okay between us. " He chuckled to himself. "Who knew that I would actually have a heart?"

"I did. I always told you that you weren't nearly as tough as you pretended to be."

He smiled to himself as we continued down the corridor for a while in silence. "So are you going to be at Jamison's little party he's throwing?" he asked with a slight grimace. I couldn't stop the flicker of triumph that ran through me. I knew that he was against the whole gathering, I was just glad that he didn't say anything to Xavier.

"Yeah. It should be fun. Plus Xavier was really nervous about it. It'll kill him if no one shows up or if someone makes a mess of it. He's not a people person, but he's trying to do something nice. He's really sweet."

"Are you going to bring a date?" he asked carefully.

I shrugged. "It's not like I've really hate time to. think about it. I don't really know that many people."

"We could both go alone and then just mingle together at the party," he said absently, trying to hide his hope.

"Even if we do bring dates, it doesn't mean that we won't be able to talk to each other and hang out," I told him.

His eyes narrowed. "You are going to bring Potter, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "It's a possibility. Hermione will probably bring Ron. If I bring Harry all of my friends will be there. We are just friends."

He growled. "How would you like it if I brought Pansy?"

I felt an unexpected wave of hurt. "You can bring anyone you want Draco. You are single." My voice was as cold and hard as ice.

I quickened my pace to get away from him, but he just grabbed my arm and made me face him. "I'm sorry okay? I just don't want to see you with anyone. Especially not with Potter."

"Well it's none of your business anymore Draco," I hissed at him. "I'm I'm tired of hearing your apologies. You want me to believe that you are sorry? Then prove it!"

"How?" he asked desperate.

"Figure it out," I growled at him before storming off.

___

When I got back to the common room I found a letter waiting for me. I figured that it was from my parents. I opened it eagerly, wondering what they had to say. I read through it taking in all the little stories about what was going on in the outside world, both good and bad. At the end they told me that I would indeed be leaving the castle for break, but we wouldn't be going to the home they had obtained for our stay in the area. They told me that they couldn't divulge all the details through the letter but they were sure that I would enjoy it and they couldn't wait to see me in a week or so.

I turned to Harry who was sitting next to me on the couch in front of the fire. "Well I have news. It looks like I'm going to be spending the holiday with my parents."

He frowned. "Well at least you won't be stuck here alone," he said trying to force a smile.

I shrugged. "Hey, well at least we have owls. Maybe I can even get permission to pop over and visit or something. I have to get you your Christmas presents somehow." Technically I hadn't even gotten any presents yet. I was waiting until the weekend when we were due to go back to Hogsmeade, but that was beside the point.

"Hopefully, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to get through the wards or that I'll be allowed far enough from the house to meet you somewhere."

I laughed, "You forget, we have the biggest ally on our side: Dumbledore. Besides, it doesn't seem like I'm having trouble bursting through wards. If I can manage doing the impossible here, I'm sure I can do it at a house."

"Well that is true."

"Don't think that you can get away from me that easily. You've already accepted me in, there is no turning back now," I joked.

"I'd never try to get away from you," he told me in a joking matter, but I couldn't help but to notice that he was indeed serious.

We fell quiet for a few moments, both just staring into the fire, lost in our own thoughts. "Xavier, er, Professor Jamison is having a little party next week for a few of the top students. He said we can bring a guest. Want to come?" I asked, not really sure what possessed me to invite him along. Quite possibly it was just lingering anger at Draco and me wanting to get back at him. But what I told Draco was indeed true. We were only friends, and if Hermione invited Ron as I suspected she would, Harry would be left out, and I didn't want that to happen, especially after all that he did to help me fit in with him and his friends.

He looked at me stunned. "Really? You want me to come with you?"

I nodded. "Why wouldn't I?"

He blushed. "Sure, I'll come."

"Brilliant," I said, flashing him a smile.

____

_My eyes rake over the still bodies lying on the ground before me. There must be hundreds of them sprawled across the meadow I'm standing in, but there is one bunch that catches my eye. There are eight bodies lined up instead of heaped haphazardly like the others. They are all lying on their backs, their unseeing eyes staring unblinkingly up at the sky. I take in the faces of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Xavier, Severus, Uncle Albus, and finally of my mother and father. _

_ A movement behind me catches my attention, and I turn quickly, only to be faced with a mirror. I look at my reflection. I'm covered in blood, though none of it appears to be mine. My facial features, instead of being contorted in horror to express how I felt, were instead lit up with glee and excitement. _

_ "Did you really think you could save them? Did you honestly not realize who the real monster was behind this all? Did you really think that Voldemort was the one to be feared?" my reflection asks me._

_ I just stare at my reflection with the words stuck in my throat, unable to say anything. It was me all along. I was the danger here. I was the one that killed everyone I loved and cared about. I kept trying to tell myself that what I was doing was for the good of everyone, but this is what it was leading up to. Their death._

_ As I stare at my reflection trying to make sense of it all, two figures come behind my reflection. I stare at them entranced, unable to make myself turn around to look at them. Both are cloaked and have their hoods up to hide their faces. The only thing that can be seen is their eyes that seem to glow in the darkness of their hoods. From one, red eyes bear down on me, and from the other, mercury. _

_ "You will always be one of us," one of the cloaked figures hiss at me reaching out a hand to put it on my shoulder…_

I woke up screaming, thankful that I had taken to casting a silencing spell on my bed ever since I stopped going to Draco. I just had a feeling that I would end up waking up screaming one night, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.

I couldn't remember ever having a dream that vivid. It felt more like some kind of vision than a dream. I shook my head of that thought though. I didn't have visions, and that was definitely not my future. I didn't care what happened in the future I would never take the lives of those I cared about, especially not by my own hand.

I could feel the tears streaming down my face, and I couldn't seem to stop myself from shaking. It took several minutes before I could get myself to calm down. Even when I was calm, I knew that I didn't want to be alone. Knowing that I was quite possibly about to make a huge mistake, I closed my eyes and let some inner part of me guide my teleportation, choosing for me.

When I opened my eyes I was standing in front of a bed. I quietly opened the curtains and shook the prone form awake, fighting back the images of seeming lying dead in the meadow from my dream. He sat up suddenly peering at me in the darkness. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice deepened with sleep.

"Does the offer still stand?" I asked in a small voice, hating my weakness. His eyes searched my face, looking for something that I had no idea of. Finally after what seemed like several long minutes, he nodded and slid over to make room for me. I quickly slid in between the covers and silently and wandlessly cast the spells that prevented any roommates from discovering my presence. "Thank you, Harry," I whispered as I snuggled against him in the darkness.

A/N – Well everyone seemed extremely OOC in this chapter, even more than normal. I'm not quite sure why though, but oh well. I hope it was at least enjoyable. Let me know what you think. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays, and have a happy New Year!


	24. A Party

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twenty-Four:** A Party

* * *

"Have you asked Ron to Xavier's party yet?" I asked Hermione. We were sitting in the library, and were supposed to be doing research but I was getting bored with it. I had already been through every book in the library, all of the books that Severus had lent me, a bunch from Xavier, and several from Uncle Albus as well. Even with all of that, there was absolutely no information relevant. I was starting to get restless going over the same information that I had already looked through and it was obvious. Over the last couple of weeks I went from just about cutting myself away from everyone to just read, to constantly trying to talk and do things with the others.

"Who said that I was going to ask Ron?" Hermione asked confused.

I shrugged. "Well no one. But you like him, and he likes you. I figured that you would take the initiative and ask him."

Her eyes narrowed. "Who said that I liked Ron?"

"No one. It's painfully obvious. Plus, I mean I do my best to block out everyone's thoughts, but I do still pick up on a few things without meaning to. Even without that, it's obvious. I'm not the only one who has noticed. You and Ron definitely both like each other."

She blushed. "I've been waiting for him to ask me out for awhile now."

"I hate to tell you this, but he's kind of oblivious. I doubt that he has any clue that you really like him as more than just a friend. Just do both of you a favor and ask him. Hopefully he'll finally get the hint."

"Do you really think so?" she asked.

I couldn't help but to grin. It was one subject that Hermione wasn't sure of herself on. Boys. It was odd to see her questioning herself. To be fair, I would probably be the same if I didn't have my little advantage. In fact, I still was at a loss about the whole Draco situation. "Definitely. You better hurry up too. The party is tomorrow night."

She nodded to herself and fell silent. I thought she was just contemplating her feelings for Ron, until she finally spoke again. "So you really are taking Harry tomorrow?"

"Yep. I thought it would be fun for all of us to be able to hang out together. That way even if the party is kind of boring at least we have our friends there." I didn't want to admit that Xavier's party would be less than enjoyable, but he was such a hermit that it was a possibility. I doubted I could do much better, but that is why I wouldn't have even tried.

"Is that all?" she asked in a knowing voice.

"What else would it be?"

"You and Harry seem to have gotten pretty close lately."

I felt my face turn red. We had indeed spending more time than usual together. Actually probably even more time than she thought. Ever since that first night of going to him after my nightmare, I found myself there every night. It was different than with Draco, yet it was still comfortable. "We have. He's a good guy. You know that. He's your best friend."

"You like him," she told me sagely.

I stared at her in surprise. "What do you mean? Of course I like him, he's my friend."

"But you are interested in him as more," she said with a grin.

I groaned and let my head fall on the table. "Hermione, what am I going to do?" I asked. I didn't even have it in me to fight it anymore. It was true. I really did like Harry as more, but I was still interested in Draco. I didn't want to be, but I couldn't change the way I felt.

"So you still have feelings for Draco?" she asked. I nodded without looking up. "Is there any chance that you might get back together with him?"

I sighed and sat up to look at her. "I suppose there is a possibility. We had a long talk about what happened. It's not like I really forgive him for what he did, but I understand what his reasons were. As impossible as it seems, he really isn't that bad of a guy. He really does try, at least with me. I can't just forget what happened, but I really do want him back sometimes."

She gazed at me thoughtfully. Sometimes she had such a penetrating gaze that it was as if she were a younger version of McGonagall and Uncle Albus wrapped into one. "Harry has been through enough in his life. If you aren't going to give him your all, then don't lead him on. He deserves better than that."

"I know he does. I'm not trying to lead him on. I'm just trying to figure out what I want. I don't want to hurt either one of them."

"You know, Marlene, I didn't like you at the beginning of the year. I didn't trust you. Now I know you enough to like you and think that you are a pretty good person. You have become a really good friend. But Harry is like my brother, and I would do anything to protect him. If you think that I'd just sit back and let you hurt him, then you are mistaken. You have to figure it out, and soon." With that she gathered her things and left me sitting there, dwelling in my own thoughts.

___

"Everyone ready to go?" Hermione asked beaming as she linked her arm with Ron's. Her hair was swept up elegantly and she wore champagne colored robes that made her seem radiant. Both Ron and Harry were in similar, sleek black dress robes, and I was in green ones that matched the color of Harry's eyes.

We all nodded and followed as she led us all out of the portrait and towards the dungeons where the party was to be held. As we walked, Harry and I began to drift behind Ron and Hermione, giving us a bit of privacy, where the others couldn't hear us talking.

"Thanks for coming with me," I told Harry, smiling up at him.

He blushed, "Thanks for inviting me."

"It's no problem. You know I can't just abandon you. What kind of friend would I be?" I asked. His eyes darkened for a moment at the word friend.

"So who is supposed to be at this party anyways?"

I shrugged. "I don't know everyone's names but it's the top two or three people from each of his classes. It should be an interesting mix."

When we got to the room, I was pleasantly surprised by the décor. I've seen Xavier do some decorating for a surprised birthday party my parents threw for me once, and it was horrible. It looked like he found any kind of decoration he could and hung it up. There were pumpkins, four leaf clovers, Easter eggs, Christmas trees, menorahs, and even some turkeys. This time the decorations were appropriately of the Yule time persuasion. There were green and red streamers hanging from the ceiling and a large Christmas tree beautifully decorated in one of the corners.

"Welcome!" Xavier greeted us all happily. "I'm glad you could all make it. Come in and mingle."

"Well you seem to be in a good mood," I told him laughing. I felt like giving him a hug, but knew that it wouldn't be a good idea. Sure I've already hugged him in front of my class, but it was different to do so in front of a bunch of other students. One mistake was tolerable, a second one wouldn't be. The others would most likely read more into it than there was and get both me and him into trouble.

"Why wouldn't I be in a good mood?" he asked.

I looked at him intently and saw that he was faking his enthusiasm. _You are miserable aren't you?_

_ Yes. Why did I think that this was a good idea? I don't like people. _It was weird hearing him sounding so distressed and yet he appeared outwardly calm and happy.

_Just relax. It can't be as bad as you think it is. Besides I'm here now. You can use me as a buffer if you want. _I glanced around to look at the other guests to see if there was anyone else there that might be able to serve to calm him down. What I noticed instead made me laugh. _Besides, nearly every girl in this room is drooling over you. I don't think you could do anything to make them think this is a bad party. _It was true. Nearly all the girls kept casting glances his way looking as if they were ready to jump into his pants. I had to admit he did look very nice tonight. _ Didn't that girl come with you?_ I asked remembering him talking about the girl he was interested in.

_No, she's not with me. She's interested in someone else._ I saw something pass through his eyes, but I wasn't sure what. I wasn't even going to try to delve farther into his mind to figure out what it was. The last time I was in his mind, things got uncomfortable. I shuttered, trying to forget that memory and hoping that the girl he was thinking about was different from the one he was interested in, or at least that it didn't mean what I thought it meant.

_Well it's her lost. Any girl would be lucky to have you interested in her._

He shrugged. "Well you look awfully stunning tonight Marlene. You like quite dashing yourself Harry. I'm glad that Marlene had the sense to invite you. You have been an absolute pleasure to have in class. From the way that Professor Snape talked about you, I thought that you were going to be a problem."

Harry scoffed. "Snape and I don't exactly see eye to eye, sir. There is no way that he would have anything positive to say towards me."

Xavier frowned. "Well that is truly a shame. Severus really shouldn't let his prejudices get in the way of his teaching." I couldn't help but to laugh. That was highly unlikely for Severus. He thrived on his prejudices. Xavier glanced around. "Well I must be off to talk to the other guests. Enjoy yourselves."

I spent most of the evening just hanging out with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Occasionally I would go talk to Xavier to see how he was doing. He seemed to relax as the night wore on and wasn't faking his enthusiasm as much. I could tell he was a little bored with the lack of intellectual conversations, but he did seem to start to genuinely enjoy himself. Towards the end of the night, I went to go talk to Draco. He had been there most of the night, and didn't try to approach me or talk to me. In fact he stayed as far from me as he could, electing to brood on the other side of the room and just stare over and my general vicinity.

"Having fun?" I asked, when I approached him.

"This is bloody boring. I can't believe I'm wasting a night of my life here. I could be doing something better."

"Then why are you here?" I asked a bit sharper than I intended.

His eyes met mine for a moment. _I wanted to see you, _he sent before turning his eyes away from me.

I took a deep breath willing the happy tingling sensation in my stomach to go away. _You could have just asked to see me._

He shrugged. "So you came with Potter?"

I nodded. "I told you I probably would. We are just friends." He turned back to me smirking with one eyebrow raised in speculation. I ignored him. "Did you bring Pansy?" I asked trying to keep my tone even.

"I decided to come alone."

His answer took me by surprise. I was sure that he wouldn't have a problem finding someone to bring with him. Sure he didn't have the best personality towards most people, but he should have gotten a date off of his looks and his name alone. "Why?" I asked curiously.

"The only person I cared to bring was unable to join me. I wasn't even going to come, but then I remembered that I made it seem like I was coming to at least one person. I'm trying out that whole, being a reliable person thing."

I grinned at him. "So how's it working for you?"

"It's too soon to tell. I'm hoping that it works out for me. It's blood annoying, that's for sure." I felt myself start to fidget. He was really trying to make a sincere effort at becoming a better person. I wanted him to be a better person for him, but I knew that a large portion of it was in order to win me back. He didn't care about other people. Yet here I was starting to fall for another person. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

I looked up to see his beautiful mercury eyes boring into mine. "I have to tell you something," I said, my voice barely a whisper. He become completely still as he waited for me to continue. I couldn't bring myself to say the words aloud, so I sent them to him. _I have feelings for Harry._

He slowly let out the breath that he was holding. _I know._

Even in his mind, he sounded sad, and I felt even more guilty. _I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to lead either one of you on. I still really care about you, but I'm starting to care about him too._

_I know. It's my fault. I was stupid enough to do something to lose you. Like I've told you though, I'm not giving up._

I felt my heart skip a beat. I didn't deserve his loyalty. _Maybe you should. I'm not worth it._

I could feel him warring with himself. He wanted to reach out and hug me, but he couldn't, not in front of all of these people, and surely someone would have noticed if we had walked out together. We were already gathering looks just by talking to each other. _You are worth it. It's my choice. If you want to be with Potter, then I'm not going to get in your way, but I will try my damnedest to get you back._

I just nodded, knowing that there was nothing that I could do to change his mind. "I'll see you later then. Have a good holiday," I told him as I turned to rejoin my group.

"I'll see you later," he murmured as he watched me walk away.

____

"Are you excited to see your folks?" Harry asked the next morning as we sat in the train compartment alone.

I shrugged. "I suppose, but I'm going to miss being at school."

He nodded. "I know what you mean. Every summer I spend most of my time counting down the days until I come back."

"At least you won't be going back to your Aunt and Uncle," I reminded him.

"True, but I still would rather stay at school. Dumbledore told me that we were going to be doing something over break. He wouldn't tell me what though," he said sounding frustrated.

"To be honest, I don't think that man is capable of being straight forward."

He chuckled. "So do you have any plans?"

"Nope. At least none that I know of. People like to spring things on me thought, so it could turn out that I will be incredibly busy the entire break."

"I bet I'll be incredibly bored. It looks like Ron and Hermione have finally realized that they like each other so they will be so involved with each other that they will forget about me."

I groaned, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry. I think that one is my fault. I pushed Hermione into asking Ron to the party.

He laughed. "It's okay. Honestly, it's better than being around them while they are both incredibly clueless. They've been like that for years. It's a bit annoying actually. I thought it was going to happen in the beginning of the year actually."

I thought back. "I remember you saying something like that when we met." I yawned and rested my head against his shoulder, an action that was becoming habit. "Thanks for everything lately. I don't know what I would have done without you. The nightmares were beginning to drive me insane."

"You helped me get rid of my nightmares. It was only fare that I return the sentiment."

I shrugged. "Well you know you can always practice. Keep working on water and maybe when we get back to school we can move on to a different element."

"What about under aged magic?"

"It doesn't register the same as regular magic. As long as you aren't going around doing it in front of Ministry officials, you will be fine. Besides I'm sure you are staying with some adult wizards so they won't be able to track you anyways."

I made myself comfortable against him, and fell asleep. He woke me up just before the train ride was about to end. We sat there silently, waiting for the train to stop, each lost in our own thoughts. I couldn't believe how much I wanted to stay. I didn't want to leave Harry or even Draco for that matter. Who even knew what Draco was going to do? He was supposed to meet with Voldemort over break to get him an update of how things were going. Would he survive it? I shuddered at the thought and pushed it to the back of my mind.

The train stopped and we both stood up and gathered our things. I was at the door first and was about to open it so that we could leave when a thought occurred to me. Who knows what would happen over break? It was quite possible that something could happen to one of us and we'd never see each other again. Acting on pure instinct, I turned and pressed my lips against his. He froze for a moment in surprise before returning the kiss with enthusiasm. After a minute or two I pulled away grinning at his shell shocked expression.

"Have a good holiday, Harry." I told him, before slipping out of the compartment and blending into the crowd. I made my way to the platform and found my parents waiting for me. They enveloped me in hugs, and I sighed in relief at seeing them again.

"Are you okay sweetie? You look a bit flushed," my father asked.

"I'm fine. It was just a little warm on the train," I lied, hoping that my excuse was plausible enough. "So where are we going exactly?"

"You'll see when we get there. We can't really tell you. Uncle Albus's orders," my mother told me, gently guiding me through the barrier.

We left King's Cross and began walking. About twenty minutes later, we stopped and my father gave me a slip of paper. "Read this and concentrate on it."

I did what I was told without question, having been to a house hidden by the Fidelius Charm before. I watched as the house squeezed its way into existence and my parents led me up to the door. "Be very quiet when entering. Trust me," my mother told me before opening the door.

I was as quiet as possible as they led me into the house and what appeared to be the kitchen. "Welcome to the head Quarters of the Order of the Phoenix," my father told me. I looked around at the curious faces and my eyes settled on three who's expressions were filled with surprise. There staring at me, was Ron, Hermione, and one that I was hoping I'd have a few weeks before I would have to face, Harry.

I stood there awkwardly for a moment trying to think of something to say when I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I turned around to find myself facing Severus, and Draco by his side. "What are you doing here?" I asked Draco.

"Dumbledore offered me protection," he said quietly so that only those close to him could hear.

"Well this is going to be an interesting break," I heard Ron say.


	25. Decisions

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twenty-Five: **Decisions

* * *

"What's Malfoy doing here?" Harry asked, with a certain bitterness in his voice.

"Dumbledore sees fit that he will stay here. He is not aware of what this place his, or where it is, so do not tell him. He will not start any trouble, so I suggest you leave him be," Severus said with a glare at all of us minors.

"So we are going to have to deal with him all break long? What about Christmas? He's going to ruin everything!" Ron exclaimed, seeming to temporarily forget his fear of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"As if I would want to spend my time with you lot. I'd just as soon live out on the streets than with you," Draco snarled.

"Then why don't you?" Harry snapped.

"Because as I said, Dumbledore told him to stay here," Severus intervened. "Now, Molly, Wizidore, would you come with me for a moment? I have some information to pass along to you."

I looked at my parents who just motioned for me to follow Severus and a plump woman with the same flaming red hair as Ron followed. "Molly, Dumbledore asked that Draco be giving his own room and then he not allowed to be downstairs. All of his food will be brought up to him. Dumbledore will stop by tomorrow to discuss the details of his stay in full."

"How will I be able to make sure that he stays in his room and doesn't wander off in the middle of the night?" Molly asked.

Draco glared at her but remained silent and let Severus speak to him. "Draco is aware of the consequences of stepping out of line. I will also be taking extra precautions to prevent his curious side from getting the best of him."

"Well if it's Dumbledore's wishes, then I suppose. I better go set up a room for him," Molly said before wandering off.

Severus then turned his cold gaze towards me and Draco. "I am under the impression that you two have come to some kind of riff. I do not want to know the details nor do I care," he said looking pointedly at me. I just grinned at him. "I will be here quite often over break to check in on things. I don't want to hear about any of your adolescent problems. You will be civil towards each other. Just because we are no longer at school does not mean that I no longer have the authority to punish you."

I chuckled. "Are you really one to be giving lectures about acting civil?" I asked.

He seethed at me. "You will learn to show me respect you insolent girl."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not my fault you take things so seriously, Sev."

His anger multiplied by tenfold. "Do not call me Sev," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Well you don't have to worry about Draco and I arguing. We are on okay terms. You just have to worry about him and the others."

"I wouldn't go near the others with a hundred foot wand if I had the choice. Why can't I just stay at Hogwarts?" Draco complained.

"You can take that up with the Headmaster tomorrow when he arrives to talk to you. Until then, do what you are told and stay out of trouble," Severus told him sternly before turning and stalking away in the direction Molly had gone, his robes billowing out behind him.

"He really is over dramatic. Someone needs to get him to loosen up," I said loud enough that he could hear me, though he chose to just ignore me and keep walking.

Draco chuckled. "He is going to curse you into oblivion one of these days."

I grinned, "I'd like to see him try."

He smirked back at me for a moment before the situation seemed to catch up to him and his face became blank. "So it looks like we'll be spending the holiday together," he said carefully.

"Looks like it," I replied taking care to keep my voice and face devoid of all emotion.

"And Potter and his friends are here too?"

I nodded. "Talk about an awkward situation."

"So are you and Potter an item now?" he asked feigning indifference.

I felt my face heat up as I shrugged. "I'm not sure what we are. Things have been very complicated lately."

He uncharacteristically shuffled his feet. "Would you rather I wasn't here?"

I bit my lip trying to think of the best way to phrase my answer. "I would rather you were here under better circumstances. I'd rather that you and I were in better terms, and that you weren't constantly feuding with Harry and his friends, and that you weren't going to be almost like a prisoner here, confined in your own rooms."

His nose wrinkled slightly. "I hadn't thought of it being like a prisoner. It's basically living with my father."

"Why were you sent here anyways?" I asked ignoring the comment about his father.

"I don't know. When Dumbledore offered me protection, I thought that it meant that I would just be staying at the castle. Then Snape showed up and told me that I was going to be staying here. He wouldn't explain anything. He told me just to wait until I talked to Dumbledore." He looked thoroughly annoyed by the lack of information, not that I could blame him.

We stood there awkwardly for a moment before Molly and Severus came back through the door. "I didn't introduce myself properly before. I'm Ron's mother," she told me warmly.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Marlene," I told her with a smile. She seemed like a fairly nice woman.

She nodded, and turned to Draco. "Why don't I show you your room, dear, and then I'll send up some dinner for you. Severus, why don't you take Marlene back down the join the others?"

The aforementioned man just glared at me before sweeping out of the room. I just rolled my eyes and followed him. "I have one other message from Dumbledore for you. He says that everyone will remain sleeping in their appointed bed, and in no one else's," he told me as we descended the stairs.

I felt myself blush and was glad that he couldn't see me. "Thanks for the message," I mumbled.

"I'm going to pretend that that doesn't imply that you have been within my house's dorms, and you will allow me to continue on with that assumption," he added, an odd lilt to his voice.

I grinned. "If you wish. It's not as bad as you think though."

He shook his head. "Anything is as bad as I think." Suddenly he stopped before we reached the bottom of the stairs and lowered his voice to that of just above a whisper. "Like I said, I don't even want to know what happened between you and Draco, but I know that you still care about him. He has chosen a difficult path and he is very much alone and could use all the support he can get. Things aren't going to be getting any easier for him any time soon."

I stared at him in dawning horror. "He's going to become a spy," I breathed.

"Nothing is for certain. Either way, as long as Voldemort is alive, Draco is in danger if he is not at his side."

I sat down on the stairs, and just looked up at him, not wanting to think about what he was saying. It was odd the things that made the war seem real to me. My twin sister was killed because of it, yet it seemed distant from the war. It was just a bunch of crazy followers continuing to follow the orders of their fallen leader. My whole life was spent training for the war and preparing to one day have control over it, yet it didn't seem real. It was something I didn't think too deeply into. Now though, things were beginning to sink in. I was friends with Harry Potter, who was just a magnet for Voldemort. One of my mentors, professor, and friend was branded with his mark as well as my ex, who I still cared deeply for. It was all around me.

I realized then that there was no more escaping. There was no more running away to try to hide from what was going on or who I was. I knew that my parents were only trying to protect me, but in a way Uncle Damien was right. They sheltered me from a lot of the harsh realities of the world. Sure I had seen some terrible things in my life, but none of it was preparing me for the war. I was supposed to be an integral part of it, and yet I was separated from it for so long. Now I felt like I was just being thrown to the sharks without any idea of what to do or how to protect myself.

I couldn't even imagine what Harry must have gone through. He didn't even know anything about the magical world, and then he was suddenly thrust into the midst of it and had a psychopath constantly trying to kill him. My respect for Harry grew monumentally. Any normal person would have broken long ago, or would have come out much more scarred, yet he wasn't. He was a wonderful boy who could still laugh and find joy in this dark world, and who still put himself in danger to protect his loved ones and strangers alike.

"This war is really happening, isn't it?" I asked.

"What did you think? This was all some really elaborate joke for your entertainment? People are dying every day for this cause," he told me bitterly.

"I didn't think that was a joke. I guess I just never realized how close to me it was. It's always seemed oddly distant."

"Well, you and Potter are pretty much in the middle of it, so it's time to face reality if you want any chance at saving the people you care about.."

"I'll be there for him, as much as I can," I said quietly, not really sure if the "him" I was referring to was Harry or Draco. Quite possibly I meant both.

He nodded curtly. "Now pull yourself together, and forget this whole sentimental exchange. Being around you could very well be detrimental to my reputation of being a cold hearted bastard," he drawled.

I gave him a shaky grin as I stood. "And yet you keep insisting you don't care."

He looked at me critically. "Things aren't going to be easy, and it's not going to be okay. You will lose people that you care about. That's just the way the world works."

I grimaced. "There's my Severus. Always the cheery one."

He scowled and led me back to the others. When we got back into the kitchen everyone there just stared at me. After a moment or two of standing their awkwardly I turned to Harry. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked, knowing that it would be better to sort things out now than to wait until later. Especially since we were going to be living in pretty close quarters for the next couple of weeks.

He nodded a bit reluctantly and then led me to a more private room. "Everything okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "I just want to talk about what happened on the train. I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay I understand," he said cutting me off. "I know that you didn't mean to kiss me. You regret, and you still have feelings for Malfoy. It's okay, let's just forget about it."

He started to walk away but I stopped him. "That's not what I was going to say!"

He looked confused. "It's not?"

"No! Why would you think it is?"

He shrugged awkwardly. "I know that you aren't as mad at Malfoy as you were before, and I saw the way you looked at him when he showed up here. I figured you must have changed your mind about him, or that the kiss was just a spur of the moment thing."

I took a deep breath. "I'm going to be honest with you Harry. Yes, I do still have feelings for Draco. He's been an important part of my life and those feelings don't just disappear. Yes, me kissing you was a spur of the moment thing, and I'm sorry how it happened. I'm sorry I just kissed you and then ran off with the intention of not seeing you for a couple of weeks, but I'm not sorry that I kissed you. I had been wanting to for awhile, but things were all complicated and I didn't want to until I was sure that I was ready to commit to you."

"Really?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes. You are a great guy, you've been better to me than I had any reason to expect. I didn't want to lead you on, but I just felt really comfortable with you. But I really do like you, and I hope that maybe we can kiss again," I told him blushing.

He smiled at me, and before I knew it, his lips were on mine.

____

"I can't believe you have Malfoy staying in your house," Ron told Harry with distaste after dinner. The boys, Hermione and I were all sitting around talking in the room that Ron and Harry were sharing. I was currently curled up against Harry and Ron and Hermione kept shooting awkward looks at each other as if they would like to do the same but was waiting for the other to make the first move.

I looked back and forth at the two boys, confused. "What do you mean his house?" I asked.

Ron chuckled. "Oh yeah, you don't know. This is really Harry's house."

"I thought you lived with your aunt and uncle?"

Harry shuffled around uncomfortably. "This was my God father's house. He died back in the summer and he left me the house. I'm letting Dumbledore use it for stuff."

I felt my eyes widen. "Well why didn't you stay here instead of going to your aunt and uncle's for the summer?"

"Believe me, I would have if I could. It's a long story, but Dumbledore says I have to go back every summer until I turn seventeen," he told me bitterly.

I patted him on the leg. "It's probably a blood tie spell. It's for your own good really. Voldemort would have an easier time to get at it if it wasn't in place. At least you are almost out of there for good."

He moved around, seeming uncomfortable even more uncomfortable. "Er, yeah I guess," he mumbled.

"What do you think Dumbledore's plan is with having Malfoy stay here anyways?" Hermione asked.

"It's probably for protection," I told them. They had already explained what the house was used as and what the Order was, so it was the only thing that came to mind.

"If it was just protection, he'd leave him at Hogwarts. Everyone says that it's the safest place," Harry put in.

"What does Malfoy need protection from anyways? I would have thought he was right there in line to get the dark mark," Ron added.

"He's changed sides. He doesn't support Voldemort." Ron and Hermione flinched a bit at the use of the name and I just rolled my eyes at them.

"So he switched sides just like that?" Hermione asked skeptically.

"He never really supported Voldemort. He just went along with his father, trying to get his approval. It never really worked out for him though," I told them hesitantly. I was sure that Draco would be furious with me if he found out that I was telling them about his life.

"Oh, so that is supposed to excuse him?" Harry asked, pulling away from me. "All of the things he's said and done aren't supposed to matter before just because he was seeking the approval of his father?"

I shook my head, "That's not what I'm saying. Of course it matters. But right now it is all catching up to him and he's trying to make things right and be a better person. That is worth something."

"That still doesn't explain why he's here," Hermione reminded us.

"Well maybe we'll find out tomorrow when Dumbledore comes tomorrow," Harry said.

We talked for a little while longer, bouncing from topic to topic before Harry asked. "Where is Ginny? She's been really quiet lately."

Ron looked a bit puzzled. "I'm not sure. You're right though. The last time she was this quiet, she had that huge crush on you."

I felt myself bristle at that. I hadn't spent much time around Ron's sister. She was mentioned a lot, and the trio made it sound as if they were fairly close, yet she never seemed to be around much. Whenever she was around I had the distinct feeling that she didn't like me. She wasn't hostile or rude, or anything like that. It was just a feeling that she gave off. At Ron's words, I began to wonder if my relationship with Harry had anything to do with it. I quickly pushed the thought away. Harry and I were nothing but friends until today, that couldn't possibly be the reason.

"Well maybe if you two weren't so busy ignoring her, you'd know what was going on," Hermione snapped before getting up and storming out of the room.

"What's that all about?" Ron asked, looking at Harry.

"I have no idea, mate."

____

"You are no doubt wondering why you are both here," Uncle Albus said to me and Draco the next morning. The three of us were in Draco's room so that we could have privacy.

"Duh," Draco mumbled.

"Draco, you came to me and asked me to help you escape the reigns of Voldemort. I promised you that I would do everything in my power to protect you. Unfortunately, your previous actions have left you tied to him in a way that I cannot dismantle. You have also expressed the wish to protect your family as well." My eyebrows rose at this, and I forced myself to remain still so as to not express my surprise. As far as he had always led me to believe, he hated his family. "Unfortunately, it is quite possible that if you leave his ranks, your family will be disposed of."

Draco tensed next to me. "I understand, sir," he said softly.

"I can still try my best to protect you. You will however have to go to Voldemort as if nothing has changed. You will be our spy."

Draco laughed sardonically. "If I refuse his summons, he'll kill my family, and then he'll kill me the first chance he gets. If I go to him again, he'll see it in my mind, and he'll kill my anyways. Either way I'm dead. You can't protect me."

"I can help you find a way to close your mind to him. It may seem impossible to you right now, but I assure you that is has been done. You already have some experience in Occlumency, so it will be a bit easier for you." I bit back my groan knowing that that was why I was there.

"Why?" Draco asked, sounding as if he were about to break. "Why would you do that for me? What is to stop me from turning against you and returning to Voldemort for real?"

"Of course I wouldn't do this without certain assurances from you. I suppose that you could betray me, but I don't think you will. You see Draco, I know the mission you have been given. You could have completed it several times over by now, and yet you haven't. You have known for a very long time now what Professor Snape's position was, and yet you did nothing to put him into danger. You know enough about Marlene to put her in danger as well, and you haven't done that either. I believe you have a good heart Draco, you just haven't had the chance to let that show."

"What if I don't?" Draco asked softly.

"Then you can join us merely as an act of self preservation. I assure you that Voldemort will fall, one way or another. Those that support him will fall as well. In the end, it's your decision."

Draco sat quietly for a few minutes, weighing his options. Finally, he looked at me. "I'll do it," he said firmly. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to be able to trust you and know that I'm not going to be wasting time and valuable resources."

Draco looked at me as if to ask for help. I just shrugged at him, not knowing what Uncle Albus was asking of him. "What about the Unbreakable Vow? I made one with Marlene once. I can't tell anyone about her."

Uncle Albus's eyes fell on me, and flushed. "That's very interesting. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Now, as you know, Voldemort will be summoning you any day now. He, as well as your family think that you are staying at Hogwarts. You will be here practicing Occlumency with Marlene. I assure you that she is the best teacher."

"I have no doubt," Draco commented. I could tell that he was just happy that have a reason to spending an indefinable amount of time alone with me.

"Very well, you will start shortly. First I have some other business with Marlene to tend to. Come along." Uncle Albus led me out of the room, and we went to fetch Harry. We then went to another empty room to have yet another discussion.

"How has the research gone?" he asked, once we were all sitting comfortably.

"Not very well. There doesn't seem to be any similar situations in history," I told him sadly, feeling as if I had let him down.

He just nodded. "I feared that would be the situation. I have done my own research over the years to find out what exactly is entailed in your connection with Voldemort, Harry, and I have found very little on the subject matter."

"So what does that mean?" Harry asked.

"It means that if you chose to allow us to test Marlene's theory, you would be doing so on nothing more than faith in the idea. We have no real idea what would happen."

Harry took a deep breath and turned to me. "Do you really think that it will work?"

I bit my lip. Suddenly I wasn't so sure about the idea. The only problem though, was that I wasn't sure because now, more than ever, I didn't want Harry to be hurt. I would have to be the one to go inside his mind, even deeper than I ever had before, and I would see things that neither one of us wanted to see. The idea itself, however, should work. "I do," I told him reluctantly.

"And you Professor?"

"Marlene understands the matters of the mind more clearly than I could ever dream. I have faith in her reasoning."

Harry nodded. "I'll do it then."

I looked at him in shock. "That's it? You are agreeing just like that?"

He looked confused. "There is no information around. If this can help, what can I do? Can I really say no and have this continue longer than need be? You think it will work, so why not?"

I groaned and buried my face in my hands, knowing that he was right.

"If that is all settled, it will be attempted during break."

"That soon? Break is only a couple of weeks long," Harry asked, seeming a bit nervous.

"If anything were to go wrong, I want to give you as much time as possible for you to recover before classes start again. Your education is still very important."

Harry took a deep breath. "During the next few weeks then," he said looking at me.

"Let's hope this works," I said glumly.


	26. Forgotten Memories

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

** Chapter Twenty-Six:** Forgotten Memories

"I'm exhausted," Draco said collapsing on his bed. His normally perfect appearance was rumpled and disheveled.

"Well so am I," I told him irritably. We had been working for three days straight to get him to effectively block his mind from Voldemort. It was taking its toll on both of us. Spending three days in a person's head or with them in yours, was a sure way to put any kind of relationship under severe strain. It didn't help that sometimes he would get pissed off at me and start sending me startling clear memories of us together just to through me off. "This is for you, you know. If you want to stop and have Voldemort discover you and kill you, then far be it for me to get in your way."

He groaned and looked at me with pleading eyes. "Can't we just take a short break?"

I thought about it for a moment. If we kept going on like this with at least a little bit of time away from each other, then we would sure to kill each other. "Fine, I'll be back later," I told him, ignoring the slightly hurt look in his eyes as he watched me walk out of the room. I knew that he was holding on to the hope that the time together would bring us closer once again. I had a headache, and it was getting difficult to distinguish from his feelings and mine. I needed to get away from him for a bit and relax before I did something that I would regret later. It was always too easy to do something impulsive with Draco.

I went downstairs to Harry and Ron's room. I found them there playing chess on Ron's bed. I felt my mood instantly get better at the sight of them. I had only seen a few glimpses of them over the last three days when they volunteered to bring up food, or when I snuck out to use the bathroom.

"Are you finished with Malfoy?" Harry asked, a trace of hope in his voice. He had a vague idea of what was going on with Draco, and while he didn't like it, he was trying to be understanding.

I groaned as I wrapped my arms around him. It felt good to feel the warmth of his body. "Not yet. We are just taking a break before we end up murdering each other. What time is it anyways?"

"Eleven," he told me after consulting his watch. "Why are you two about to kill each other? Learning Occlumency wasn't that bad with you."

I chuckled. "Well we weren't doing marathon sessions that lasted for days, and I wasn't digging around for your deepest darkest secrets. There is no time to take it easily."

"Why does he have to master it so quickly anyways?" Ron asked.

"I can't tell you." He frowned but let it go. It seemed that someone told him that he wasn't to push for information. "I'm going to take a nap. Can you wake me up in about twenty minutes?"

"Sure," Harry said watching me as I left to find my room.

The twenty minutes of sleep were blissful despite the odd dreams I had. I had spent so much of the last 48 hours in Draco's head that it seemed that his mind was still connected to mine. My dream kept twisting so that sometimes I was me, and other times I was Draco. Despite my exhaustion, I was glad when Harry woke me up and I could be sure of who I really was again.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he sat next to me as I tried to find the will to get out of bed. All I had managed was to sit up.

"I'm fine. Just tired." I leaned against him and buried my face in his neck. "Aren't breaks from school supposed to be filled with fun? Shouldn't we be having snowball fights and making snowmen right about now?"

He chuckled. "Maybe if we were normal they'd be fun," he said with a trace of bitterness in his voice.

I pressed my lips against his neck and felt him shiver. "I'm sure we can make the best of this though," I told him with a grin.

"Possibly," he told me capturing my lips with his own.

After a few minutes I reluctantly pulled away from him. "I really should get back to work."

He frowned. "Can't you wait ten more minutes?"

I shook my head. "If it wasn't something important, I would, but I really can't."

"You really have no idea how long this is going to take?"

I shook my head. "We'll be finished any time though." I kissed him one last time. "I really should go. Uncle Albus and Severus would kill me if they found out I was wasting time."

I made my way back up to Draco's room. He was passed out on his bed burrowed deep under his covers. Grinning to myself, I jumped on the mattress next to him scaring him awake. He sat up quickly, clutching his blanket to his chest and looking at me with dark smudges under his eyes contrasting darkly with his pale skin, and his silky white-blonde hair disheveled.

"How long has it been?" he asked his voice thick with sleep.

"About a half hour. I didn't want to waste any more time."

He groaned and covered his head with his pillow. "I can't wait for this to be over just so that I can sleep. How are you so awake?"

I grinned to myself, "Because unlike you, I don't need ten hours of sleep to look gorgeous."

After a moment's pause he sat up again, this time letting the blanket fall and revealing his pale, bare chest. "So you think I look gorgeous?" he asked with a smirk.

"No, you think you look gorgeous. Haven't we been through this before?" I responded trying and failing to keep my eyes off of his expanse of pale bare skin.

He noticed and his smirk became more pronounced. "Well what can I say? I am a connoisseur of beautiful things."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Just put your shirt on so that we can get back to work."

He stretched but made no move to get out of bed. "How am I supposed to explain why I'm so exhausted when I'm on break? I mean everyone expects a Malfoy to have nothing less than a perfect appearance."

"You've been busy working on your mission. You've been planning and setting things into motion. Who has time to sleep when you have a Dark Lord to serve?"

He winced at my tone but finally got into motion. He moved languidly as got out of bed and shrugged on a shirt. He took the extra time to smooth out his hair and perfect his appearance the best he could with his limited resources. He then took his place sitting on the edge of the bed and pulled the desk chair in front of him.

"Take a deep breath and relax," I told him. I watched as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He sat up a little straighter and when he opened his eyes his face became blank and his eyes turned to steel. "Are you ready?" I asked, aware that my voice was almost a whisper.

He gave me a slight nod. I closed my eyes and concentrated on his thoughts. He had gotten a lot better than he was when we had started. In fact it seemed as if he nearly had it perfected. He managed to keep sensitive information blocked without it being obvious that he was hiding things. We kept working thought because we had no idea of how deep Voldemort would be searching or how persistent.

I was initially met with a barrier, and it took a greater effort on my part to get through than it would have a few days ago. I scanned through what was on the surface of his thoughts and smiled to myself when I saw that his mind was consumed on his looks and how ragged he must look with his lack of sleep. He mentally recoiled in disgust when he thought about how long it had been since he'd had a proper shower.

I delved further into his mind trying to find traces of Dumbledore, the Order, or of where were. The only thing I was able to come across was a sense of contempt for the Headmaster and disgust that he still held the position of the head of the school. I tried from several directions and yet I still found nothing.

I moved on to try to find anything about Voldemort. I was trying to see if I could detect a sense of fear. I was mildly impressed to find that I couldn't. When we had first started the fear was strong and I kept seeing protectiveness of his mother. Now thoughts of Voldemort were only associated with a sense of pride at being honored enough to be giving a mission to be completed.

Finally I moved on to the subject that seemed to be the hardest on both of us: his love life. I tried to see who he was interested in and all I could see was Pansy. I had to suppress as shudder when I came across one of his more intimate memories with her. I hated to admit it but he did have a point in using Pansy as a cover up. In going to school with teenager boys, I found that they were always thinking about a girl. It would have looked susipicious if there was no girl on his mind.

I tried a different approach, trying to see if there was any trace of me in his mind. There was the awareness that I was with him at the moment. I saw a little bit of him thinking about the things I've told him about how to block his mind and how to get better results in his spell work, but unless I was specifically looking for myself, I wouldn't have noticed it. Then I noticed something that felt a bit weird. The best I could describe it would be looking though an opaque glass. I could see shapes and I could tell that it had something to do with me but I couldn't tell what it was. Somehow I could tell that Draco wasn't even consciously aware of it. I pressed against it and the barrier broke. Suddenly both of our minds were flooded with memories of us.

I pulled out of his mind and opened my eyes to see gray orbs reflecting the confusion I could feel in my own. "What was that?" he asked his voice sounding oddly raspy.

"How should I know? It was in your mind not mine." I rubbed my temples trying to put some order to the memories I had just uncovered. They were all from our summer together, all in the woods or in the cabin that we would escape to. One memory was of us performing a ritual. It was complicated and should have been more that what either of us should have been able to do, but somehow I managed to pull it off. It was a derivative of the Unbreakable Vow. If the vow was broken, instead of simply dying immediately, the breaker would have a long, painful death. It was simply inhumane. There were also some finer aspects of it that made the young Draco from the memories nearly quake from fear, but he couldn't remember what exactly they were. I couldn't tell why we decided to do the ritual either. It didn't make any sense.

"I couldn't have forgotten all of that," he told me, his voice shaking slightly.

"I don't think you did. I think someone put a spell on you," I told him, feeling myself start to tremble. "I think I must have the spell on me too. I don't remember any of that either."

"Who could have done it? There was hardly anyone around that summer."

I shook my head, trying to think. Suddenly something dawned on me. "Draco, do you remember ever thinking about me or that summer before you saw me on the train?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Of course I did. I was frustrated because I never heard from you."

"Are you sure? Are you sure you didn't just remember that when you saw me?"

He became suddenly very still and I could almost see the wheels turning in his mind and pieces falling into place. "What going on?" he asked in a small voice.

"I think something happened that summer that we aren't supposed to remember. Someone put some kind of memory spell on us. I should have realized this earlier. I knew you went to school at Hogwarts. When I was told that I was going to come here, I should have known that I was going to see you again. But I didn't. I forgot everything you told me about Hogwarts too. It wasn't until Ron mentioned your name right before you came into the compartment that I started to remember. As soon as I saw you, it was like I remembered all along, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. Hearing you and seeing you must have somehow began to break the spell, but it didn't break completely. Every time we talked about our memories, it felt like there was something missing, something wrong with them. I tried to ask you about it before, but you changed the subject. You can feel it too. I know you can," I babbled.

"Why would someone do this?" he asked.

I shook my head, feeling the strength run out of me. Suddenly I felt like I had been awake for weeks instead of the better part of a couple of days. "I have no idea. It's not easy to tamper with the mind of a telepath. Whoever did it must have really known what they were doing. Maybe if I find a way to unlock my own memories, we'll get some answers."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Are you sure you didn't do it?" I gave him a questioning look. "I mean your greatest fear was the Dark Lord finding out about you. By completely erasing my memory of you until I saw you again it would definitely insure that. No one could know the mind of a telepath better than one."

"Why would I alter my own memories though? Besides I don't think I'd be able to do it myself. And what was with that ritual we did? I thought we did the Unbreakable Vow."

"So did I," he mumbled. "I'm definitely glad I didn't break it now."

"We should go to Uncle Albus. Maybe he knows something about this."

He opened his mouth to say something, but instead he hissed and grabbed his left forearm. He looked at me with fear in his eyes. "It's time."

"You can do this," I told him, taking his hands in mine. "Just calm down and concentrate. You'll be okay."

He smirked at me, his façade coming into place. "Are you a Seer now too?"

I grinned at him. "No, I just know that it's my job to torture you. I'm not done yet. You have to come back."

His mask fell again. "I think you like torturing me." He leaned closer to kiss me, and I turned my face away so that his lips fell upon my cheek. "I love you Marlene."

I shook my head. "Don't do this. You have to get going." I tightened my grip on him and teleported us down to the fireplace. "You are supposed to go to Dumbledore's office."

"I guess this is it," he said taking a handful of the powder that was sitting on the mantle.

He turned towards the fireplace, but I pulled him back to me and wrapped my arms around him. "Be safe," I mumbled into his chest.

His arms surrounded me for a moment before I felt him wince. "I have to go now," he told me gently pulling away. He gave me a sad smile before letting his mask of indifference fall into place and throwing the powder into the fire.

I watched as he disappeared into the flames. I stood there for a few minutes before just staring into the flames wondering what to do next. I felt like I should be doing something, and yet I felt oddly blank. I was still just standing there several minutes later when the flames flared and Severus stepped out brushing ash off of his robes.

"Dumbledore sent me to check up on you," he announced, his voice dripping with disdain. I just ignored him. He studied me for a moment before taking a seat. "Do you plan on standing there all night?"

I finally seemed to break out of my trance and took a seat near him. "So, are we supposed to just wait now?" I asked.

"What else do you suppose we do?" he sneered.

I simply shrugged. "Why aren't you there?"

His eyes narrowed. He didn't want to be discussing this information with me. "The Dark Lord only summoned Draco. He saw no need for me to appear before him today, so I am not there." I nodded, too drained to try to needle him for more information. "You look exhausted, you should get some sleep. How long have you been awake?"

"I took a nap earlier," I mumbled.

His eyes narrowed once again. "When was the last time you had more than an hour's worth of sleep?"

"The first night here."

He drew in a long breath. "Go to sleep. I will wake you when he returns."

"I'm not sure that I could sleep at this point," I told him folding my arms on the tables and lying my head on them.

I could hear the rustle of his robes and the delicate sound of vials hitting each other. After a few moments I felt his hand nudge my arm. I looked up to see him handing me a vial of some kind of disgusting green liquid. "Take this and sleep."

I took it and stared at it for a moment. I didn't even question what it was or point out that most sleeping potions didn't work on me. "Do you think he'll be okay?" I asked instead.

"If you have done your job effectively, he should return relatively unharmed."

I felt a small smile stretch my lips. "Of course, if he fails, then it will be my fault."

He shrugged. "He has a good sense of self preservation. He's not going to do anything that will get him killed."

"I hope not." I stood up and was about to make my way up to my room when I remembered the revelation Draco and I had. "Severus, how can you tell if someone has placed a memory charm on you?"

He stiffened. "Do you have reason to think that one has been placed on you?"

I nodded. "I think someone put one on me and Draco back when we knew each other before."

"What has brought you to this conclusion?" he asked, his expression tightly controlled.

Suddenly I felt uneasy talking to him about this. He was reacting oddly, and I was too out of it to properly analyze his reactions. "It's just a feeling," I mumbled.

His eyes narrowed. "I think you should talk to Dumbledore about your theory. I'm sure he'll be interested to know."

"Thank you Severus. You promise you will wake me up as soon as Draco comes back or you hear something?"

He nodded. "Get some sleep. Your work is far from over. It wouldn't do to have you drop dead from exhaustion before you can finish."

I headed to my room and took the potion Severus gave me. Within seconds sleep overtook me.


	27. Into the Darkness

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:**Into the Darkness

I heard someone call my name and felt a little shake. I opened my eyes to see two luminous green orbs peering back at me. "Snape sent me to wake you up. Malfoy is in the kitchen with Dumbledore," Harry told me.

I felt my eyes widen as I scrambled out of bed and raced to the kitchen. Sure enough sitting at the table was Uncle Albus, Severus, and looking extremely ruffled and more tired than ever, Draco. I hurried to the seat next to him, looking him over, trying to see if there was anything wrong with him. "Are you okay?" I asked.

He nodded wearily. "I'm just tired," he assured me though I could see a slightly haunted look in his eyes. Something must have happened, or he saw something that really bothered him, but he wasn't going to tell me about it. At least not in front of the adults. I also noticed a faint coldness about him. He seemed even more distant than normal, even more so than when he had on his normal façade. I couldn't do anything about it at the moment, so instead I turned to Uncle Albus expectantly.

"I assure you, he is fine. The mission was a success."

"So what happens next?" I asked, stealing glances at Draco who was fiddling with a scrap of paper in his hands, refusing to look up at any of us.

"Since Mr. Malfoy has agreed to work as a spy for me, Severus will take him under his wing and watch over him. He'll teach Draco everything he needs to know to keep safe. You on the other hand have another mission to complete. That one will be put into motion tomorrow."

I nodded and bit my lip, debating whether or not I should ask my last question. Finally my curiosity won. "Will Draco be staying here for the rest of break?" I felt myself flush, and I could sense Draco's eyes on me, though I didn't look to see what his expression was.

"That is entirely up to Mr. Malfoy. Severus could easily reach him either place, and he would no longer be kept to the confines of his room if he were to wish to stay here. So, Mr. Malfoy, what do you think?"

I turned to Draco and met his eyes. There was a flicker of something in his expression before he turned away. "I'd like to go back to Hogwarts," he said softly.

I stared at him in shock, only distantly aware as the conversation continued. "Very well. You can rest here today, and then you will return to the castle. Was there anything else that we needed to cover Severus?"

"I believe Miss Wizidore had wanted to talk to you about the possibility of memory charms placed on both herself and Draco."

I started at my name and took a moment to replay the conversation. "Oh, yeah. Yesterday, I noticed something weird in Draco's memory." I recounted what happened as he listened thoughtfully.

"Well, it looks like your other mission may have to be pushed back. We will look into this, but first, both of you need to catch up on sleep. After this is sorted out, Mr. Malfoy will return to Hogwarts and you, Marlene will continue with your responsibilities."

Draco and I took that as a dismissal, and we headed to his room. I waited until we were both in his room and the door shut before talking to him. "Why are you leaving?" I asked, trying to keep the illogical hurt out of my voice. It shouldn't hurt me that he didn't want to stay. He wasn't my boyfriend anymore. Obviously he felt the same way.

He threw himself on his bed before responding. "Did you honestly expect me to spend more time here with Potter, Weasel, and the Mudblood than I had to?" he snarled.

Fighting my anger I shrugged. "I thought there might be something here worth it."

He smirked at me. "What? Seeing you and your _boyfriend_ Potter acting all lovey-dovey?" He let out a sharp barking laugh. "If I wanted to be tortured I'd just go spend more time with the Dark Lord. I'd much rather spend the rest of my break in peace, as far away as Potter as I can get."

I winced. "I'm sorry."

"Why do you even want me around anyways?" he asked angrily. "You don't want to be with me. You don't love me. What does it matter if I'm here?"

I was taken back. "I still care about you,' I told him in a shaky voice.

He laughed, and it was a scary sound. "I don't really want to be around you right now if we aren't together. It's too much. You've made your decision clear, so I'm making mine."

"I thought you weren't going to give up," I mumbled.

"I'm not. This is just too much to deal with at the moment."

I couldn't do anything but stare at him in shock. This wasn't the Draco I knew. This wasn't even the Draco that terrorized the school with his sneers and razor sharp tongue. I tried to dip into his thoughts, momentarily forgetting my morals, but his mind was very well blocked. I had definitely taught him well. All I could get from him a tangle of emotions: anger, hurt, fear, betrayal, hopelessness. "What happened to you last night?" I asked my voice barely above a whisper.

"Nothing," he told me, his eyes becoming cold and hard.

"You were fine until you left. You took every opportunity you could in the last few days to try to change my mind. What happened?" He didn't answer. I reached out to touch him, but he turned away from me. "Draco…" I started

"Just leave me alone. I'm tired."

After a moment or two, it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anything else to me so I left. I went back to my room and was surprised to see Harry still there, lounging on my bed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Waiting for you," he said, blushing a bit. "Are you okay? You look upset."

I sighed and slid into bed next to him. Immediately he wrapped his arms around me and I curled up against him. "I'm fine. I just got into another argument with Draco."

His eyes darkened and narrowed. "Why are you guys always fighting lately?"

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You'll be happy to know that he'll probably be gone tomorrow."

He grinned and lit up. "Really?" I nodded and he kissed me. "That's great. Maybe now you can finally relax some."

I chuckled. "I doubt that. We still have one more thing to worry about," I told him, tracing his scar with my fingertip causing him to shiver under my touch. "If that goes smoothly, then we can talk about relaxing."

He frowned. "It never ends, does it?"

I kissed him softly. "It will someday. Someday soon."

"I hope so." His lips captured mine, and we both got lost in the moment, forgetting the world around us and the utter chaos of it all. It wasn't until we could hear someone calling up from a few floors below that we broke apart. "It's time for breakfast."

"I think I'll pass. I'm still exhausted. I'm just going to catch some sleep."

He nodded and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of my face. "Okay, so I'll see you later?"

"Definitely."

He kissed me one last time before slipping out of my bed and out of my room.

____

_I was standing in the field, once again staring out at the sea of bodies that lay before me. Everyone I knew and cared about was dead. Draco was lying at ye feet, his sightless eyes staring heavenwards and his face contorted in fear. _

_ "They didn't have to die, you know," a cold voice whispered in my ear. I froze, unable to even turn to see who was talking to me. "They could have been fine if only you listened. You knew what your destiny was."_

_ A hand gripped my shoulder and my paralysis broke. I turned to see a bony, pale white hand on my shoulder. I followed the arm up and saw blood red eyes peering at me from beneath the hood of the cloak. I opened my mouth and started to scream._

"Marlene, Sweetie, wake up!" I heard my mother say, bringing be back into consciousness.

I sat up, still screaming, drenched in sweat. "I killed him," I sobbed, throwing myself into my mother's arms.

"Killed who?" my mum asked quietly while trying to sooth me simultaneously.

"Draco. Everyone. They were all dead," I bit out between sobs.

"Calm down. What are you talking about?" my father asked, and I could feel him trying to work his soothing powers on me. I managed to calm down just a bit.

I summarized my dream for them. My mum hugged me close to her. "It's okay. It was just a nightmare. We are all alive and well. Draco is even downstairs getting some dinner."

I sniffled. "It didn't feel like a nightmare. It felt real."

My dad gently took me from my mum's arms. "Marlene, listen to me. You know yourself better than anyone. You would never do anything to hurt anyone you cared about. Don't let this get to you now. You are a good person. Don't let anything ever make you question that."

I nodded but kept hugging him, taking comfort in his warmth.

"Why don't you get yourself cleaned up and join us downstairs for dinner? There are a few people that we want you to meet," my mum told me.

I nodded again and pulled away from my dad. "Are you okay now?" he asked looking me over with a critical eye.

"Yeah, thanks Dad."

He gave me one final squeeze before leading my mum out so that I could have a bit of privacy to finish gathering myself.

When I got downstairs I was surprised at the array of people gathered in the kitchen. The trio was sitting at one side of the table with a bunch of the adults. Draco was sitting on the opposite side of table, as far away as the rest of them as he could. Next to him sat Severus, staring moodily at a plate of food.

"See, Draco is there and he is fine. It must have just been the last few days taking its toll on you," my mum announced causing every to look at me curiously. I felt myself turn red. Draco met my eyes briefly, a questioning look in his eyes before he let his eyes fall back to his food and began pushing it around his plate.

"Care to share what that's all about?" Severus asked as I took a seat by Harry.

"I just had a nightmare. That's all."

"Is that what all the screaming was about?" Draco asked coolly.

"Well seeing everyone you've ever cared about lying dead before you isn't much cause for laughter," I snapped. His eyes widened slightly and I felt a sense of guilt surround him.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked quietly so no one else could hear.

I gave him my best smile. "I'm fine."

My parents then captured my attention by introducing me to all the other adults. It was a bit weird since I had been at the house for a few days already, but I had been so holed up with Draco that I hadn't met the others staying or coming through. I found out that one of the adults was a Metamorphmangus as well. After giving a brief explanation of me and some of my extra abilities, we spent dinner having a little competition to see who could make the best change. She won our little battle. I was able to morph faster, but she was more used to doing it on a regular basis than I was. I spent most of my time trying to stay in one consistent form, while she was always changing.

After dinner Uncle Albus appeared again. He talked with some of the adults for a while and then he took me and Draco aside. "Are you sure you want to find out if a spell has been placed on you?" he asked me.

I hesitated for a moment. Why wouldn't I want to know? My curiosity won over though. "Yes," I told him simply.

"Very well then. We will do that now." He took out his wand and began casting spells. It felt more like he was doing a medical diagnostic on me more than anything. Finally he finished and looked at me gravely. "It appears that you are under some kind of spell."

"Well then you can reverse it, right?"

He shook his head. "Without knowing what exact spell was used, it would be too dangerous. Who know what the side effects could be."

"Who could have put it on me?" I asked.

The twinkle went out of his eyes. "That seems to be a very good question. Unfortunately I do not have the answer. All that I can tell is that it must have been someone who was close to you. They would have had to know exactly which spell would work on you and be someone who you wouldn't expect."

"You didn't put it on me?" I asked, half hoping. While I wouldn't be happy that he did, it was more comforting to know that it was him that had the power to pull one over on me.

"I've done a lot of things that I'm not proud of. I've done things behind your back that you would be infuriated if you know the details of them, but I assure you, I did not do this."

I nodded sadly. "How am I going to figure out who?" I asked.

"I wish I could give you that answer."

My eyes drifted to Draco. He saw me looking at him, and automatically became defensive. "I didn't do it," he told me testily.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Why thank you Captain Obvious. I know you didn't do it. You wouldn't have put the charm on yourself, and the level of magic required to do a spell like that would be far beyond any level you could hope to be on at the age of thirteen." He seemed to relax a little bit. "Do you remember anyone around that summer? Anyone we were close to? They had to have known both of us."

He seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking his head. "The only people we came across were our parents on that one day. No one put any memory charms on us that day, that's for sure," he said suppressing a shudder.

Uncle Albus nodded as if his suspicions had been confirmed. "It appears as if this mysterious person has managed to make you forget all about him."

"So what does this all mean?" Draco asked, sounding bored.

"It means that you two must know something that someone has gone to great lengths to hide."

________

"Are you really leaving?" I asked Draco as I watched him finish gather what little belongings he brought with him. He was stubbornly refusing to look at me.

"Yes."

"Even if I ask you to stay?"

He hesitated a moment, but kept his eyes off of me. "Why would you do something like that?"

"We have to figure out what's going on," I told him, grasping at straws trying to find some reason for him to stay. I knew that I was irrational to want him around so much, but I did.

He scoffed. "You don't need to me to figure that out."

"You are a part of it. Maybe we need to be together to figure it out."

"If you find out that we need to be around each other, I'll show up."

I stared at him, unbelieving. "What's wrong with you? This isn't you Draco."

He finally turned to me. "And you know who I am?" His eyes were flashing with anger.

"Yeah, I do. You are someone who's whole world is changing all around him and you don't know what to do. You've never had much choice in what happens to you before, and now that you do, you are afraid you are doing the wrong thing. You don't care much for either side of the, war. All you are really worried about is self preservation, but unfortunately neutrality is not an option for you. You care about people more than you pretend to. You want to make sure your mother is alright, and despite everything you still love your father."

He glared at me. "You think you are so smart, don't you? With your little mind tricks. Since you know so much, why don't you tell me what is wrong with me?"

I studied him for a moment. "I think you are afraid. It never really hit you what you are doing until you showed up in front of Voldemort."

"Don't say his name," he snapped.

"That's it, isn't it?" I asked, feeling a bit smug that I got it right without resorting to reading his emotions. "You always did try to act braver than you were."

He whirled on me and before I had a chance to react, he had me pinned to the wall. His eyes were harder than I've ever seen. "You have no idea what he's like. He was in my head. He was so close to finding out about you. He would have found out about everything."

"But he didn't. You protected me. You protected everything."

His eyes changed. They blazed with a different kind of intensity. Moving so quickly that I didn't see what was happening he leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. There was so much passion, so much need in the kiss that it threw me off. When I was able to gather my wits, I pushed him away. "I can't do this to Harry."

"Do you really want to be with him?" he asked quietly. There was no anger or repulsion in his voice, only curiosity.

"He's a good guy. I like being around him. He makes me feel good."

"Are you in love with him?" he asked, reaching out to brush stray strands of hair out of my face.

"I haven't known him long enough to even think about that."

A small smile ghosted across his lips. "I have to get away for a bit, but I'm not giving up."

I dropped my eyes, not able to look at him as I made my confession. "I'm afraid that if you leave I'll never see you again."

He chuckled. "I'm far too annoying to be gotten rid of that easily."

I didn't smile. "You can't control what happens."

He shrugged. "I think of all people, Potter would be the one to kill me."

This time I smiled. "Well you have been enough of a jerk to him."

"it's part of my charm."

________

I stayed with Draco until it was time for him to leave. I still wasn't about him leaving, but there was nothing I could do about it. I was just glad that we were leaving on better terms than it looked like we weren't going to be when I woke up.

After he left, I went off in search of the others. I found them in the drawing room. I stood in the doorway quietly for a moment, enjoying the sight of the dynamic between the three friends. Ginny was with them, and they appeared to be talking about something they all did together once. I saw Ginny and Harry look at each other, and something weird passed between them. It was gone as soon as it came. Pushing an odd feeling away, I made my presence known to the group. As soon as Ginny saw me, her easy smile fell.

"I have to write a letter to Dean," she said quickly before leaving the room to the surprise of the boys.

"She's gone mental, that one," Ron said, commenting on his sisters weird actions. Hermione just gave me an apologetic look.

I made my way over to Harry and he pulled me into his lap. "You all will be happy to hear that Draco is gone. You shouldn't see him until we get back to school now."

Ron let out a cheer and was elbowed by Hermione.

"Did everything finally get sorted out?" Harry asked.

"As much as it can be. There are still some things left to be figured out, but there really isn't anything we can do about it at the moment. So that means tomorrow you and I get to experiment and hopefully not kill ourselves or destroy our minds."

He frowned. "Are you having second thoughts about it now?"

I shook my head. "I guess I'm just worried. I mean I'm pretty sure that nothing will go wrong. I just don't like not knowing for sure."

He nodded. "It'll be okay. I trust you."

______

"Are you ready?" Uncle Albus asked. Harry and I nodded. We were sitting in chairs facing each other holding hands. Uncle Albus and Severus were on either side of us. I knew that Harry was uncomfortable with Severus there, but it was agreed upon that it would be a good idea to have Occlumens with us in case anything went wrong. "You may begin when you are ready Marlene," Uncle Albus told me calmly.

I took a deep breath and dived into Harry's mind. I bypassed all conscious thought and began to search for the like to Voldemort. It wasn't that hard to find. If I were in the physical realm, it would have been a tunnel. At Harry's end it was bright, but as I passed through it, it got darker and more sinister. There was a barrier separating Voldemort from Harry's mine, but it wasn't too difficult to get through. Either Voldemort wasn't as good as blocking his mind as everything thought, or he didn't think too highly of Harry's ability to get past the barrier. Someone should really tell him that he shouldn't under estimate his enemies. Then again, I wasn't going to complain. It made my job infinitely easier.

I waded through his thoughts. It was the equivalent to wading through slimy water. He had an extremely quick thought process, but nature of his thoughts made me feel dirty. I lost all sense of time as I tried to find some information that the Order could use. Suddenly all conscious thought stopped and Voldemort was filled with rage as he realized that there was some unknown presence in his mind. Before I could escape from the confines of his mind, all went dark, and I knew no more.


	28. The Beginning of the End

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:** The Beginning of the End

"Unconscious yet again," Harry muttered. "Why is it that you are always becoming unconscious?"

I had just woken up moments before to find him along with Ron and Hermione standing over me. I also had a huge headache. "Oh, shut up." I glanced around the room and noticed that I was in the same room Harry and I had been in, only someone laid me in the bed and arranged the covers around me.

"He does have a point," Ron quipped. "You've been in the hospital wing more times than Harry has this year. Now that's saying something."

"I would have thought that someone so powerful wouldn't be knocked unconscious so easily," Harry told me, amusement glinting in his eyes. I could sense his relief that I was alright, and it was quite endearing.

"You know, I never had this problem until I met you." I said glaring at him.

He grinned. "How sweet. You get around me and you just begin to faint. I suppose that means I just sweep you off your feet."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that's the reason. Your boyish charms simply woo me into unconsciousness."

"How do you feel?" Hermione asked changing the subject before our bickering could continue.

"I feel fine except for this headache," I told them.

"Well that is to be expected," Uncle Albus said, appearing behind the trio causing them all to jump. He stood in the door way, his eyes sparkling at us.

"Are you trying to give everyone a heart attack?" I asked laughing, clutching at my heart which was still beating frantically.

"My apologies. I should have announced myself. I was just coming to check in on you and I heard you talking. Can you remember what happened?" he asked while he checked me over, casting charms to make sure I was physically well.

"I was in Voldemort's mind," I said, trying to recall as much information as I could.

"Did you find anything useful?" Uncle Albus asked. I could detect a faint sense of excitement in his voice.

I sifted through the memories in my head, trying to recall what I got from the demented wizards mind. I gasped when it came to me. "He's planning an attack on the school. He is close to being able to discover a way onto the grounds. He is using the children on the Death Eaters to try to infiltrate our side and gain information about the school. He has several Ministry officials under his control. Some of them are under the Imperious Curse, but others have been supports of his the entire time but have just been lying low. I know where he is too."

The tension built as I talked. By the time I was finished, it was almost tangible. The trio stared at me in shock. Uncle Albus just looked calculating, as if he were already putting together a plan.

"Are you sure?" Uncle Albus asked.

I nodded. "His mind was remarkably clear and organized. His thoughts made me wish I could clean my mind out with some extremely powerful soap though. He's so arrogant that he doesn't believe that someone could get into his mind. He was surprised when he realized that there was someone in his head. I don't think he realized that it came from Harry though. He thinks one of his followers betrayed him."

"Do you know when he intends to put his plans into motion?"

"As soon as he can. He wants to wait until after the holidays are over. The more students there the bigger the statement when the school falls. It'll probably be while classes are in session and the teachers are distracted."

"Does he honestly believe the school won't fight back?" Harry asked incredulously.

"He underestimates the students. He does not deem them a threat. He most likely wants them there as a sacrifice. Only the teachers will matter to him," Uncle Albus informed us.

I chuckled and they all looked at me confused. "You would think that being nearly defeated by an infant and being continuously thwarted by a young boy would change his mind about that."

"Even the most brilliant man has his moments of idiocy," Uncle Albus told us sagely. "Are you sure you are feeling well?" he asked.

I nodded again. "I'm fine, I promise."

His eyes twinkled. "Very well. I will have to call a meeting then."

I watched him leave and then turned to Harry. "Did it have any effect on you at all?"

"I had a bit of a headache, but that's about it. I could still feel you in my mind, and then you started screaming and then passed out. Dumbledore and Snape checked to make sure you were alright. They said that you would be fine."

I nodded. "Voldemort shut down at least part of his mind. Apparently I was deep enough in it that it shut me down too."

Ron shook his head. "You two are crazy. You are always running into trouble. Normal people avoid murders, not run after them and get into their heads."

"Well when has Harry even been normal?" Hermione asked causing us all to laugh.

_________

"Legally, you are not adults. You should not be involved in this war. You are too young. Unfortunately, life has dealt you circumstances beyond any of our control," Uncle Albus was saying. After the meeting, he gathered me, Harry, Ron and Hermione in kitchen to speak with us. Both mine and Ron's parents were in the room as well, but they promised they would let us hear everything that Uncle Albus had to tell us.

"We cannot let Voldemort get near the school. Too many innocent students would be put in danger. Many of us have agreed that the best way to approach this situation is to attack first."

"When?" Harry asked quietly. He was looking quite pale and as if he were to be sick at any moment.

"I would like to ask Marlene if she would be willing to enter Voldemort's mind one more time to try to pin point exactly when he decides to attack. I am in no hurry to put people at risk."

I could feel my parents tensing up behind me. They were not happy with this plan, but since I walked away from it the first time practically unscathed, they didn't have much of an argument against it. Besides, it was ultimately my decision. Even if my parents forbade me to do it, I could still go behind their backs. "I'll do it," I answered softly.

He nodded. "Harry, as you know, you have been thrust into the center of this. The prophecy need only be true if you make it. There is no need for you to be there unless you wish it."

"I can't stand back and let people just walk into the battle. I have to be there. I have to do something. If something goes wrong, and someone gets hurt, it'll be my fault."

Uncle Albus looked at him sadly. "You give yourself too much responsibility. You are not the one ordering the deaths of so many people. Do not blame yourself for their unfortunate end. You have already lost too much to this war that is not yours. It is not your duty to end this."

"I have to be there. He killed my parents. I have to make sure he's gone. If I'm not there, I'll never be able to rest in peace. Not that the world would let me."

Uncle Albus nodded, knowing that he wouldn't be able to change the youth's mind. "Marlene…"

"Save your breath Uncle Albus. You already know that I'm going to be on the front line. Nothing you can do will stop me. This is what I was made for."

He seemed to age before my eyes. I could feel his anguish. He was sending children in to fight a war. These were the children that he spent much of his life trying to protect, and now they were the ones that were going to protect the world. It didn't matter that he manipulated them and put them in this situation, he hated doing it, and there was no other way that he could see. "Ron and Hermione."

"We want to be there too sir," Hermione spoke up. "We've been with Harry for years. We aren't going to let him face him alone."

"It is not up to me too allow or prevent you to go. That decision lies with your parents."

"Why doesn't Marlene have to have her parents' permission?" Ron asked.

"They would be hard pressed to stop me if they didn't. I've been training for this my entire life. He's destroyed my family too. I'm not going to let this bastard live," I told them.

A faint twinkle returned to Uncle Albus' eyes. "Marlene is a special case. She knows exactly what she is signing herself up for. Her parents already know as well and have giving their consent."

Ron turned to look at his parents. "I'm going with Harry. He needs us."

"You are too young," his mother told him sternly.

"He won't care how old I am when he comes to kill me. If we don't get rid of him, it will only be a matter of time before he comes after us. It might be too late by then."

"That doesn't mean I will allow you to walk straight into danger when it is not necessary. I may not be able to stop Harry, but I will not allow you to go. You will stay here where you are safe. There are other people that will be there. You don't need to put yourself in danger."

"I'm going with or without your permission. If this fails, no place will be safe."

"You can't do magic outside of Hogwarts. What do you plan on doing? How do you plan on fighting without magic?"

"If he gets his way, there will be no Hogwarts. This is more important than getting expelled from school."

His mother glared at him, her face as red as her son's. She seemed to run out of arguments. She turned on her heal and marched out of the room. Her husband looked at his youngest son with a great sadness in his eyes. "Do what you must," he told him before following his wife out.

Everyone else just stared at Ron, surprised at the passion and logic his put into his argument. No one saw anything like that come from him before.

"My parents still don't completely understand sir. I'm sticking with Harry no matter what they say."

Uncle Albus nodded sadly, the twinkle noticeably missing from his eyes. "Very well. We will check Voldemort's plans in a few days. Until then, enjoy yourselves the best you can."

He left us alone with my parents, who had remained silent the entire time. "Sweetie, are you alright?" my mum asked.

"Yeah. We all knew that it would come to this one day. It will be okay."

My father gave me a hug and a kiss on the head. My mum followed suit and they left us to our own devices.

The four of us just stared at each other, none of us seeming to know what to say. Finally Ginny seemed to ignore her prejudice of me and joined us. "What's going on?"

We all took turns filling her in on what happened over the last day. When we finished she looked straight at Harry. "I want to fight too."

He shook his head vehemently. "No. I learned by now that I can't stop Ron and Hermione, but I won't let you be there. It's too dangerous."

"Then what was the point of the D.A. then?" she asked angrily.

"It was to defend yourself if you were under attack. Not to train you to recklessly run into danger."

"You do it all the time!"

"So? You want to be like me and put everyone else in danger?" he asked angrily.

She rolled her eyes at him. "When are you going to get it through you thick skull? It's my choice. Whoever follows you, it's their choice what they do. You don't put them in danger. They put themselves in it! Voldemort, puts them in it." Ron flinched at the mention of the name coming from his sister's mouth.

Harry and Ginny both stared at each other breathing heavily. I saw something pass between them again. This time there was no mistaking what it was. This wasn't the time to mention it though.

"This doesn't have to be figured out right now. We have a few days left. We should make the most off the time we have," I told them, trying to end the argument.

"We should be training. No matter who's going or not, we should all be prepared for the worse case," Hermione told us logically. Everyone nodded in agreement and they all turned to me. I sighed at the leadership position they assigned me and began running them through basic drills, trying to get them to do the most they could without magic.

_____

"What am I thinking? I can't do this," Harry mumbled later that night. The others went to bed about an hour before but Harry and I stayed up longer to get in more practice.

I cupped his face between my hands to force him to meet my eyes. "I'm going to tell you the same thing my father used to tell me. 'You can only do your best, and nothing more.' You've survived everything else. You defeated him before. You'll do it again."

"It's not like every other time. Those weren't planned. It was just a bunch of dumb luck that got me out of those situations."

"Then you'll have the same dumb luck and get out of this one," I told him, sending him calming energy. "Trust me. Everything will work out alright."

He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close as we sank into a chair together. "I just don't know what I'll do if something happens to you or Ron or Hermione or Ginny. Or anybody else. I doubt that we'll all get through this alive."

I gave him a squeeze. "Everyone who is volunteering for this battle knows that there is a chance they might not come home. You can't just take the burden on your shoulders."

"I just want this to end," he murmured against my neck. I could feel his lips begin to place soft kisses against my skin, sending chills down my spine.

I groaned and pulled away from him. This wasn't the time to deal with simple teenage issues, but it didn't look like there would be a time to do it in the near future. "Harry, we have to talk."

He looked at me, his wide green eyes full of confusion. "About what?"

"I know about you and Ginny."

He looked even more confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You love her. And she loves you."

His eyes widened. "I don't know what you are talking about."

I chuckled. "I think you do. You just don't want to admit it for some reason." He turned red and suddenly refused to meet my eyes. I sighed when I realized what at least part of the problem was. "Harry, look at me." After a moment or two he did. "It's okay. I'm not mad at you."

"You aren't?" he asked shocked.

I shook my head. "I really like you Harry, but we aren't meant for each other. Besides, I'd be a hypocrite if I were to be mad at you."

"Do you love Draco?" he asked curiously and a bit sadly.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure how exactly I feel about Draco. All I know is that I still care about him a lot. More than I should, especially when I'm supposed to be your girlfriend."

"I figured as much." He started chuckling. "Ron would kill me if he found out."

"Why?"

"Ginny is his little sister. He hates everyone she dates."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"She was dating our roommate Dean. Ron was friends with him until they started dating. Then he kept talking about how he wanted to bludgeon him."

I laughed. "You know, I really don't think he'd have the same problem if it were you with her. He'd know that you'd take care of her. I mean you are like the ultimate good guy, being our savior and everything."

He rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Well this is a hell of a time to figure this all out."

I laughed. "Well there is no time like the present. You should tell her as soon as you can. Who knows when or if you'll be able to get another chance?"

"What about Malfoy?"

I grimaced thinking about the roller coaster the last few days that we spent together was. "That's complicated. I don't know how much I can do about that situation. He and I have both been hurting each other a lot lately."

He frowned. "I'm sorry about how this turned out. Things would be simpler if I didn't care about Ginny so much."

I rolled my eyes. "There you go again blaming yourself. It's not your fault. Even if you didn't love Ginny, it wouldn't change how I feel about Draco. Then this would be even a worse situation. At least now we can both agree that the best thing for us is to not be together. Besides, when has anything ever been simple for you? Or for me for that matter?"

"So are we still friends?"

"Of course. It was fun while it latest, but I have a feeling we are going to be apart of each other's lives for awhile yet."

He grinned. "I think I'm going to head to bed now. I feel better now. Thanks."

"No problem," I told him hugging him before he left.

I made my way to my own room. I tried to sleep, but my mind just didn't seem able to shut down. I kept thinking about what the next few weeks would be like. Undoubtedly it would be filled with intense training. Then it would be the final battle. Hopefully. It was odd to think that in just a few weeks the entire war would be over. For good this time. Not all of the people I cared about would survive it most likely, but we wouldn't have to live in fear any more.

My mind kept drifting to Draco as well. I wondered where he would be during the battle. Would he be summoned to Voldemort at that time? Would he be fighting with me, Harry and the others? I hoped that he would be far from the battleground. I'd hate to have to fight against him, but I would if it came down to it. If he was fighting with me, I'd be too worried that something would happen to him. If Voldemort saw him on our side of the battlefield, he'd be sure to put in the effort to kill him slowly. I wondered if there was something that I could do to help influence his decision.

Finally I gave up the idea of sleep and pulled out some parchment and a quill. I decided to write to Draco, hoping that I'd come up with something to make him listen to me. I worked on it for about an hour, but nothing seemed to come out right. Finally I settled on a simple approach. Dipping my quill in ink for the final time I wrote:

Harry and I are no longer together. – Marlene

I cast a complicated spell that put the parchment on Draco's bedside table so that he would be able to see it when he woke up. Finally feeling a bit more at ease, I was able to drift off to sleep.

____

"Are you ready?" Uncle Albus asked. It was a few days later and we were back in the room and I was getting ready to once again invade the mind of Voldemort, using Harry as a gateway.

"There is no time like the present," I told him before diving in.

I made sure to be much more careful this time so that I wouldn't tip of Voldemort. His mind was much more heavily guarded this time. Large sections of it were closed off. I would have been able to break into them if I needed to but I wouldn't be able to do it without alerting him to my presence. At first I was afraid that the details of his plan of attack was in one of the sealed sections, but fortunately for me, he was discussing his plans with someone.

I sat silently and invisible in his mind as I observed his plotting. He didn't trust his followers any longer, not that he really trusted them in the first place. He did indeed think that one of them had managed to penetrate his mind. Since then he was meeting with each of those that made up his inner circle and telling them slightly different versions of his plan. If his plan was to be foiled, he thought he'd be able to find out who betrayed him this way. He had tortured all of them that had been in his presence at the time extensively, but none of them broke. He couldn't lie to himself however, and I could see the plan shining brightly in his mind.

I quickly and carefully managed to slip back out of his mind without being detected. I wound my way out through Harry's mind and opened my eyes. Harry, Uncle Albus, and Severus were all looking at me expectantly.

"It's set for the second Wednesday after we return. He has been trying to recruit some of the animals in the Forbidden Forest. It seems as if he has gotten close with some. He's hoping that he will be able to convert them completely to his side before he attacks," I told them, rubbing my temples, hoping that the budding headache would dissipate.

"Are you sure?" Severus asked.

I nodded. "He's not telling anyone the real details of the plan. He thinks that he has traitors in his inner circle. He's spreading false information to try to weed out his followers. He's settled on that plan though."

Uncle Albus looked thoughtful. "That means we will have to plan our attack before then. Thank you Marlene, Harry. Severus, we must make our plans." The adults left in a swirl of robes, leaving Harry and I alone.

We stared at each other, taking in the implications of the information. Christmas was in a few days. They would be returning to school shortly after the New Year. That left only have about two and a half weeks before the attack on the school. Our time was very short.

Without a word, we both stood and made our way to the Drawing Room to join the others. Harry moved straight to Ginny and began whispering to her in a corning. I joined Ron and Hermione.

Ron frowned at Harry and Ginny. "Of all the girls in the world, he just had to fall for my sister."

I laughed. "Well I don't think that it was exactly on purpose. But I mean come on, you know that he will treat her right."

"You mean like he treated you?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "He didn't treat me bad. We like each other, but we both have people we care about more. There are no hard feelings. We are still friends."

"Oh just let Harry be happy. If anyone deserves some happiness in their life, it's him," Hermione chastised him.

"So when are you too going to stop being so stubborn and finally start dating?" I asked with a grin. They both turned red and started stammering. "Oh come off it. You both like each other, just go for it. Time is short."

They both looked at each other sheepishly, and I made my way to the kitchen to try to find a snack. When I got into the hallway, the front door opened and Xavier stood there? "What are you doing here?" I whispered so as not to wake the portrait. There had been a lot of people who came and went through the headquarters, but during my time there, I had never seen Xavier.

He grinned at me. "I brought you a present." He stepped to the side and there stood Draco.

He smirked at me. "Miss me, Wizidore?"

A/N - So there are only a few more chapters left. Yay! I'm finally almost done!


	29. The Calm Before the Storm

_A FINAL CHANCE_

_By: Shadowedheart89_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.

**Chapter Twenty-Nine:** The Calm Before the Storm

* * *

"What am I doing here?" Draco asked angrily. It was two days before we were to return back to Hogwarts, a little over a week till we were due to launch our attack on Voldemort's headquarters and he and I were sitting in the Drawing Room in a circle with Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione.

"That's what I've been asking," Ron rumbled, gaining an elbow from Hermione. It was obvious that everyone was uncomfortable with the company.

"We are all here," I started loudly to drown out any other comments, "because we are all fighting on the same side." Actually we were all together because Uncle Albus insisted that I try to get them to form some kind of truce before the battle, but they didn't need to know that. Admittedly I should have made this happen earlier in the holidays, but I thought that this was going to be unpleasant, and we had enough unpleasantness to deal with lately without purposely adding to it.

"So is that supposed to make us friends?" Draco asked with a raised eye brow. I sighed to myself. Of course Draco was going to make this difficult. I wished for once he would just keep his mouth shut and do what he was told.

"No, but I think that we should all have a truce. At least until the battle is over. Then we can all go back to hating those we hate now, and move on with our lives. It'll be a lot easier to train and fight alongside one another if we have some trust between us all."

"I don't trust him," Harry said blatantly.

"I'm not asking you to trust him with your secrets. All that matters is that we are against one common enemy. All that other petty stuff doesn't matter at this point. We just need to trust that on the night the battle happens, we will try to keep each other alive."

"Am I supposed to trust that he cares whether or not I live or die? Am I supposed to believe that he's on our side? I'm the one that Voldemort is going to be concentrating on. I'm the one who's going to end up on the front line risking my life, yet no one has to prove to me that they are really on my side and not just going to stab me in the back," Harry vented, his eyes blazing.

"That's right Potter, I don't owe you anything," Draco announced, his eyes cold as ice. I felt myself getting annoyed. They just needed to listen to logic, but they were letting their petty differences get in the way.

"Draco," I tried to stop him but he brushed me off.

"Do you think you are the only one that has lost something in this war? Do you think you are the only one whose family has been destroyed? Everyone who is going to be there will be putting their life on the line, not just you. The Dark Lord will not hesitate to kill anyone who is there. Do you think that he treats his supporters with kindness? You saw with your own eyes what he made Wormtail do!" He finished with a ringing silence as everyone stared at him.

After a moment or two, Harry retorted. "I'm quite aware of all of that. I'm also quite aware that this could be a ploy to have me killed if you are still following Voldemort."

Draco chuckled. "Potter, if you can trust me on one thing, it's this: If I wanted you dead, you'd have been dead a long time ago. Besides if I could pull one over on Dumbledore, Snape, and Marlene, I wouldn't be following the Dark Lord, I'd be the Dark Lord."

The two of them glared at each other. "Why don't you just tell us why you changed sides Draco?" I asked, hoping that if could get Draco to speak honestly, the others might be more willing to trust him. He already thought I was on their side over his, and I wasn't making things better by trying to force him into talking, but I had no choice. I knew that I was the only one who had a chance of getting him to listen to me.

As I figured he would, he turned to me looking betrayed. "What? Are you starting to doubt me too?"

"No, of course not," I assured him. "I just think that it'll make things easier."

He lowered his voice slightly, but not enough so that the rest couldn't hear him if they wanted to. "It doesn't matter what I tell them. They have it in their heads that I'm the bad guy, and nothing I can say will convince them otherwise. This is just a waste of time."

He started to stand up to leave, but another voice spoke up, freezing him in his tracks. "I might believe you."

He turned towards the voice and smirked. "Now why, after all of the things I've said and done to you Granger, would you believe me?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance. And it's like Marlene said, if we really are all on the same side, we should trust each other for this. It'd be a lot easier at the battle if we don't have to not only worry about the Death Eaters, but our own people as well."

Draco studied her for a moment as if calculating if she was being honest or not.

"I might believe you too," Ginny announced much to the surprise of her boyfriend and brother.

After staring at his sister for a few moments slack jawed, Ron turned to an equally stunned Draco. "Well let's hear it."

Draco slowly sat back down and ran his fingers distractedly through his hair. He glanced at me, and I knew what he needed, but was too proud to ask for. I took his hand and gave him all of my support. He met my gaze steadily then and I saw him fighting with himself. His pride was telling him not to tell them anything that it was none of their business, but the logical side of him was tell telling him that he needed to do this to gain their trust.

He took one steadying breath as he swallowed his pride and began. "Well it's really not that complicated. The Dark Lord was angry that my father failed at the ministry last year. He decided that I would take my father's place in his fellowship and gave me a mission that he knew that I would fail, just as an excuse to kill me, my mother and my father."

"Why would he need an excuse?" Harry asked.

Draco shrugged. "Why does he do anything? He's insane. Maybe he just wanted to cause my family more shame. He wanted to humiliate us. Or maybe he thought there was a slim chance that I would succeed and was giving me my chance. It doesn't matter though. Dumbledore already knew of the mission through his spies."

"What was the mission?" Hermione asked.

Draco's eyes dropped to our entwined fingers. I squeezed his hand slightly. "I was to kill Dumbledore," he told me quietly.

I felt my stomach drop. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Draco was a lot of things, not all of them necessarily good, but he wasn't a killer. My hand went limp in his, but he just tightened his hold. "Did you ever try?" I asked, my voice sounding hoarse.

"No. I was going to once though. Remember that day I stormed into his office while you were there?" I nodded numbly. "I had gotten a letter in the post just before from my mum subtly reminding me about the mission. I figured that my best chance would be if I surprised him so I ran into his office pretending to need help. I saw you there and lost my nerve. I sprouted some nonsense about how I saw Snape with the Dark Mark since I knew that Dumbledore already knew, and that he threatened me."

"That was your only attempt?" I asked.

He nodded. "I kind of got distracted with other things after that."

"So that's why you changed sides? Because he was going to kill you and your family?" Ron asked.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well that was part of it. I'm not just going to follow around a guy that is purposely trying to kill me and my family. I did it for the people I love."

"Your parents?" Hermione asked timidly.

"And Marlene," he said squeezing my hand again.

"Your father too?" I asked quietly.

He sighed. "My father is a bastard, but he's still my father. If I can save him, I will. But he won't be able to control my life again. Besides, I'd save him just for my mother. I love her, and she loves him. It'd break her heart if anything happened to him."

"Even if you have changed your mind, your father is an adamant supporter of Voldemort," Harry pointed out.

Draco laughed cynically. "Potter, all my father cares about is power. He thought the Dark Lord would succeed, so he became a supporter. When it falls, you better believe he'll be renouncing his ways, probably with a tale about how he was under some kind of spells. If there is anything my father knows how to do, it's getting out of tight spots and manipulating people. He's a Malfoy. There is a reason we all get put into Slytherin. We are sly and cunning."

"Your reasons aren't really all that noble," Hermione pointed out.

"You sound more like a coward actually. All you are doing is trying to get on the winning side and save your neck," Harry mumbled.

"I never said my reasons were good, or that I was brave. I believe that's your role, as Gryffindors."

"So do you believe him?" I asked, hoping to stop an argument.

"I do," Ginny spoke up. "It sounds just self serving enough to be true for him. Only who knew that Malfoy would actually have a heart."

Draco smirked at her. "I'll take that as a compliment."

I looked around the circle and the rest nodded their agreement.

Draco grinned at me and seemed to relax. "So do I get to hear all of your stories?"

"No." Ron told him.

"And why not? I had to tell you everything," Draco responded indignantly.

"It's quite simple really, Malfoy," Harry responded with a grin. "_We're_ the good guys."

Draco glared at him for a moment before abruptly standing up and striding over to Draco as the rest of us watched, wide eyed and tense. I saw Harry's hand slide closer to his wand before he froze. Draco merely stuck his hand out and stared at him with a raised eyebrow. Slowly, as if wondering if it were some kind of trick, Harry grasped the hand and shook it twice before quickly dropping it.

"Well, look at that Potter. It only took us six years, but it looks like we are finally on the same side," Draco told him with a small smirk.

"Hey Malfoy? Do you still think some wizard families are better than others?" Ron asked.

"I do, but no longer for the same reasons."

Ron nodded to himself. It seemed to be the answer he was looking for.

I sighed with relief. Though not everyone in the room got along or liked each other, I was confident that we all had faith enough in each other that we would be able to get through the battle.

"What's that?" Draco asked as he dropped into the space next to me.

It was late that night, and I couldn't sleep so I found a fireplace and curled up on the couch in front of it and started playing the small silver object that I usually kept in my pocket. "It's a muggle lighter," I told him flicking it open to show him what it did.

He frowned at it. "Why don't you just use your wand?"

I shrugged. "It's just calming. Here, try it."

I handed him the lighter and watched as he fumbled with it in distaste. It took him a couple of minutes before he got the hang of it. When he finally fell into the rhythm of it, he smirked at me. "I guess it is." He handed it back to me with a chuckle. "You know, sometimes I can hardly believe you are a pureblood."

I smiled at him. "I'll take that as a compliment."

He rolled his eyes. "Why do you have that thing anyways?"

"I use it for practice." He looked confused so I went on. "I can control the elements."

"The elements?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes, you know: earth, wind, water, fire."

"I know what you meant," he said impatiently. "What do you mean you can control them?"

Instead of answering, I flicked open the lighter and watched as the flame erupted. I made it larger and started manipulating it into a sort of dance or light show. He watched in awe.

"Bloody hell. How'd you learn how to do that?"

"I spent quite a bit of time in the states. We stayed at a native reservation and they taught me how. I've mastered air, water and earth, but I still am working on fire."

"What in Merlin's name else do you have to do before you are a master?"

I grinned. "Well they say the sign of a true master is to be able to sort of conjure the elements. Fire's the hardest. Wind is the easiest once you get the hand of it. All you have to do is move air." I created a fairly wind that ruffled his hair and made the fire in the fireplace flicker. "Water vapor is in the air. All you have to do is condense it." I cupped my hands together and concentrated. He watched my hands filled with water. Curiously he stuck a finger in to test its validity. "It's the same with earth, well if we were outside or someplace dirty."

He shook his head as if to clear it. "But that's not conjuring it, that's just summoning it."

I laughed. "It is what the natives called it. They looked at it from a different view point that what we would. The point is those three are really simple. But where does fire come from? It's not all around us. That is why fire is the most difficult."

He just stared at me for a few minutes. "What else can you do that I don't know?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "I'm not going to tell you right now. After the battle, if we are both still here, then I will."

"Why after?" he asked curiously with just a trace of hurt.

"If I tell you now, you'll put too much faith in me. You'll think that I'm invincible, and that's definitely not the case. I could be killed as easily as everyone else."

He grinned. "I'm definitely curious now."

"You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat."

He looked confused. "What cat?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Don't worry about it."

He looked frustrated, but surprisingly, he let it drop. I summoned a blanket and then curled up next to him. He absently carded his fingers through my hair for a few minutes before quietly calling my name. I turned to meet his eyes. "I love you Marlene," he whispered.

"I love you too Draco," I told him kissing him softly.

"Do you think that we'll both get out of this alive?" he asked.

"I hope so."  
_____

"It's weird isn't it?" Hermione asked.

"What's weird?" Ron asked looking at his girlfriend.

"We are on the train back to school. We are going to go through the next week as if everything is normal, knowing that next Monday, we are going to be going into a battle. It's like the calm before a storm. You can feel that something bad is going to happen."

Ron slid his arm around his girlfriend and looked around at his sister, me and Harry as if it never registered that we were doing exactly what Hermione said we were.

"But we aren't going to be going to class and stuff right? Don't we have to keep training?" he asked hopefully.

"We have to. We have to keep up appearances. Voldemort has spies at school. The Death Eater's children are checking in with their parents and reporting everything that is going on. They'll notice if we've all stopped going to class. Besides, imagine all the stuff we would miss for exams," I told him.

"We'll have to train while we aren't in class," Harry said resolutely.

"What about the D.A.?" Ginny asked. "They could help. They've been practicing for this too."

I shook my head. "Uncle Albus would never allow it. He's already stressed out enough about sending us into the middle of this. If they aren't 17 there is no way he's going to let them leave the school."

"That's not fair. They should be able to help if they want to!" Ginny argued.

"They can keep watch over the school," Harry interrupted quietly. As it neared the battle, Harry was becoming more and more withdrawn and quiet. I kept wanting to talk to him, but I didn't know what to say. "Something might go wrong and Voldemort might attack the school. They can stand guard. We'll just have to tell them what night and they'll be ready."

"Are you sure that everyone in the D.A. can be trusted?" I asked cautiously.

He glanced at Hermione and nodded.

"Speaking of trust, where's Malfoy?" Ginny asked.

"He has to keep up pretenses too, so he's sitting with the Slytherins," I told them.

"Does that mean he has to keep pretending to date Parkinson too?" Harry asked. I was glad to see that spark of concern break through his abnormal emotionless mask.

"Rumor has is that they had been on the fritz, and just before the holidays he caught her with a fifth year Slytherin. They broke up and he embarrassed her in front of their entire house," I told them with a grin.

"I can't imagine what it must be like for him this next week. He has to just go along with the rest of his house knowing that next week he's going to be facing their parents in battle," Hermione pondered.

"Well it's a good thing that Draco is a fantastic actor."

"He is?" Ron asked skeptically.

I grinned at him. "Well he's had the entire school convinced for years now it seems that he neither has a heart nor morals."

______

The next week flew by at record speed. It was filled with impromptu training sessions in empty classroom in between classes, during breaks, after dinner and in the middle of the night. Harry seemed to grow more and more frustrated that he had to go to class instead of spending all of his time training. He was even tossing around the idea of staging getting hurt so that he would have an excuse to get out of class. He would have even skipped meals if Ron, Hermione, Ginny and I weren't nearly literally dragging him into the Great Hall.

Harry and Hermione gathered the members of the D.A. and told them what was going on. They all agreed to guard the school. After a heated argument between Ginny and Harry over where she would be on Monday when the battle was to occur, it was agreed that she would stay behind and lead the D.A. I watched her as she led one practice session of the group, and I had to admit, she was a natural born leader, not unlike Harry. They were great together.

The only times I saw Draco were in class and on the first couple of nights when we went back to the tower. The Death Eater children were beginning to get ready for Voldemort's take of the school and he had to go along with them. Since he seemed to be the natural leader of the group, he had to be the one that was giving the others things to do. He had to make it convincing enough, otherwise the others would be suspicious.

Saturday night I found myself tossing and turning in bed. Monday was the day we attacked and like everyone else, I couldn't get it out of my head. I slid out of the dormitory so as to not wake the other girls and made my way to the common room. I wasn't too surprised when I found Harry down there staring into the fire with bloodshot eyes. When he wasn't training, he was becoming more and more distant, and looked more haggard with each passing day. Every time I tried to talk to him or help him sleep he kept dodging me. Vowing not to let him escape I sat down next to him, causing him to jump slightly.

"How are you doing?" I asked lamely.

He chuckled darkly. "I'm just fine."

I frowned at him. "What's been going on with you lately? You've hardly been talking to anyone," I told him gently.

"I don't think I can do it. We are all going to die because of me," he told me in a hoarse voice.

I put my hand on his shoulder, sending him calming energies. "I thought we went over this Harry, yes you can. You won't be alone either. We are all going to get through this."

He shook his head, though he was visibly calmer. "That's not what I mean. I'm not sure that I can actually kill someone. Not even Voldemort."

"When the time comes, you'll do what you have to do. It'll surprise you what you can do when a life hangs in the balance."

He seemed to think about that for a moment. "Last year at the Ministry, Bellatrix Lestrange killed my godfather. I chased after her and tried to put the Cruciatus Curse on her, but I couldn't even manage to do that. If there is someone in this world that I hate nearly as much as Voldemort, it's her." I squeezed his shoulder, unable to think of anything to say to that. "I think part of me is afraid that if I kill them, I'll turn into someone just like them."

"You won't Harry," I assured him.

"How do you know that? Dumbledore keeps telling me that I'm a lot like Voldemort. We have some of the same traits. Our wands are brothers."

"I know Harry, because you are worried about it. Just the fact that despite everything Voldemort has done to you and this world you still feel guilt at the thought of killing him, as inhumane as he is, is proof that you are not like him or his followers."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Dumbledore told me that it's our choices that shape who we are. I choose not to be like him."

"Dumbledore's right, too. You are a good person. I remember when I first came here I was in awe of you. I had read all about you of course, but you were nothing like I thought you would be. You were so sweet and kind. When I would get upset and cry over trivial things, it was you that was comforting me despite everything you had to deal with. You are one of the strongest people that I know, and you have the biggest heart of any person that I have ever met. There is no possible way you could ever turn dark. Don't ever think that way again."

He smiled at me. "Thank you Marlene. I'm glad you came here."

I smiled back at him. "So am I. Now get some sleep. You'll be needing it soon."

I manipulated his energies and in seconds he was yawning. "No fair," he mumbled, but he still got up and made his way back to his bed.


End file.
